The Indian economy is growing at 8.5 to 9.0% every year and is keeping
 pace with expectations of economists of the world. The higher growth
 rate was contributed by significant growth in agriculture at 6.6% in
 2010-11 as against the growth of only 0.4% in 2009-10. This augurs well
 for the economy going forward as agriculture always recorded sluggish
 growth in the past. Food grain production touched an all time high of
 235 million MT with record production of Wheat and Pulses. Increase in
 soil productivity through efficient use of crop inputs is the only way
 forward to meet the growing demand of food by a rising population.
 
 As a step towards balanced nutrition to improve soil health and crop
 productivity, Government has implemented nutrient based subsidy from
 1st April 2010 for phosphatic fertilisers. This move by Government
 facilitates in curtailment of subsidy bill and provides farmers access
 to new products to enhance crop productivity. This new policy is a
 welcome change for the industry as it helps players to leverage on
 their strong brands backed by intensive extension activities.
 
 The demand for innovative fertiliser grades is expected to grow in the
 future in order to ensure improved soil productivity at the same cost
 to the farmers. We at Coromandel have been proactive in responding to
 this positive drive. We continue to invest in the development of new
 fertiliser grades that will benefit the farming community for years to
 come.  The tie up with Shell Research for introduction of Sulphur
 Enhanced fertilisers is a step in this direction
 
 Coromandel recorded all time high sales of fertilisers during the year
 and the company has included Urea also in its portfolio. The company is
 also in the process of increasing capacity to approx 4 million tonnes
 from the current 3.2 million tonnes and additional raw materials
 required for the increased capacity is also being tied up. The
 investment in Tunisia is expected to start yielding results from
 2011-12 onwards when the project gets commissioned.
 
 Coromandels long term strategy of de-risking the subsidy business with
 non-subsidy business such as Crop Protection, Specialty Nutrients,
 etc., has started yielding significant results. And significant growth
 in non subsidy businesses is expected in the next 3 to 4 years. On the
 retail front we have plans to expand our presence geographically and
 also the gamut of product and service offering to farmers.  Farm
 mechanisation service has been launched on a test basis and there are
 plans to scale up in the coming years.
 
 As part of our strategy, we continue to focus on backward integration
 in terms of raw material tie ups and forward integration in terms of
 retail, distribution reach, farm mechanisation and drip irrigation.
 
 As a company, we have been energizing and making a difference to the
 millions of lives we touch. And it is with this energy that we will
 bring about a collective change that our nation and society are looking
 forward to.