Grupa Azoty Aims to Lead Europe's Food Security Debate

WARSAW, Poland, April 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Grupa Azoty, Poland's leading chemical and fertiliser company, wants to focus on new sustainable ways of agricultural production, key executives of the Company said this week. The Company seeks to optimise fertiliser application, reducing carbon footprint and maximising yields.

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New policy focus comes after last week's visit of the President of the Republic of Poland Bronisław Komorowski to Grupa Azoty's industrial complex in Puławy, and the discussions that took place at the European Economic Congress in Katowice. The Congress, also attended by the President, saw Grupa Azoty's management outline the Company's aspiration to focus on differentiating the use of fertilisers according to local needs.

President Bronisław Komorowski commented:

"Spanning two different political and economic realities - centrally-planned and free-market - Grupa Azoty has managed to achieve the impossible: reverse the degradation of the natural environment under communism, proving that in these new circumstances, it is possible to develop chemical and fertiliser business in a sustainable way."

Paweł Jarczewski, CEO of Grupa Azoty, commented:

"Our policy decision comes as we expand as a national champion and European challenger in chemical and fertiliser industries. We are now ready for further expansion into international markets to face the challenges for global food security from the rapid growth of the world's population. "

Dr Zenon Pokojski, Vice-President of Grupa Azoty's subsidiary company in Puławy, said:

"There are important regional differences in how fertilisers should be used in different parts of the world to maximise yields with minimal environmental impact. We want to lead the search for the best formula, working with local farmers and communities on finding the best, most suitable solutions."

Mr Pokojski runs the Puławy Competence Centre, a unique Central European think-tank focused on creating a platform for cooperation and exchange of ideas between agriculture, entrepreneurs and the world of academia.

The World Health Organisation estimates that there are 7 billion people in the world; twenty years from now, the population will rise to 8.5 billion; and by 2050 it will be close to 10 billion.

According to the FAO, in 2012-2014 around one in eight people in the world, around 800 million, were estimated to be suffering from chronic hunger, regularly not receiving adequate nutrition to live an active life. Earlier this year Grupa Azoty joined the World Economic Forum in Davos to represent Central Eastern Europe in top-level discussions about food and energy security challenges.

The issue of global food security is expected to be among key topics discussed at the G7 summit in Elmau, Germany in June 2015, and the strategic issue of this year's Expo 2015 global exhibition in Milan, Italy.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (ticker: WSE: ATT), Grupa Azoty is Poland's largest chemical company and the European Union's second-largest producer of fertilizers, while such products of Grupa Azoty as melamine, caprolactam, polyamide, OXO alcohols, and titanium dioxide also enjoy a strong position in the chemical sector and find application in different other industries.

Grupa Azoty was founded as a result of the 2014 consolidation of strategic Polish chemical companies.

By the end of 2014 the Polish government declared Grupa Azoty a "strategic asset", and the Company announced it was seeking to diversify its portfolio through regional and global acquisitions.

SOURCE Grupa Azoty