PhosAgro joins with UNESCO to support young scientists

OJSC PHOSAGRO - PhosAgro joins with UNESCO to support young scientists

PR Newswire

London, March 29

PhosAgro and UNESCO Launch Green Chemistry for Life Partnership for Harnessing

Moscow - PhosAgro ("the Company") (Moscow Exchange, LSE: PHOR), a leadingglobal vertically integrated phosphate-based fertilizer producer, on 29 Marchsigned a partnership agreement with UNESCO establishing a grants programme tosupport promising projects proposed by young scientists as part of the jointGreen Chemistry for Life project.

UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, and PhosAgro CEO, Maxim Volkov, signedthe partnership agreement at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The PermanentDelegate of the Russian Federation to UNESCO Eleonora Mitrofanova, theExecutive Secretary of UNESCO's International Basic Sciences Programme (IBSP)Maciej Nalecz, and the President of the International Union of Pure and AppliedChemistry (IUPAC) Professor Nicole Mareau were also in attendance at thesigning ceremony.

The objective of the partnership between PhosAgro and UNESCO, to be implementedin close cooperation with IUPAC, is to enhance global international capacity toharness green chemistry to help address today's global sustainable developmentchallenges.

Financial and scientific support will be given to young scientists from aroundthe world who are working on development and application of advanced chemistrytechnologies for issues like environmental protection, human health, foodsupplies and the use of natural resources. Projects proposed by youngscientists will be evaluated, selected and launched by an internationalscientific jury.

This initiative represents the first time in the history of UNESCO and theentire United Nations system that a Russian company is providingextra-budgetary funding for a project. The total financing from PhosAgro forthe five year Green Chemistry for Life project, which may be prolonged, is USD1.4 million.

PhosAgro Management Board Chairman Maxim Volkov said: "I am extremely pleasedto launch this project, which is the first of its kind to be sponsored by aRussian company. We view the Green Chemistry for Life project as an investmentin the whole planet, and a successful example of how science and industry canunite under the auspices of UNESCO to create new knowledge aimed at protectingthe environment. I also believe that this project will help improve theprestige of chemistry and lead to more young scientists choosing to study thispromising science. It is these young scientists who will be the source offuture breakthroughs in green chemistry."

In January 2011, during the official opening ceremony of the International Yearof Chemistry at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, PhosAgro first took theinitiative to propose the launching of a partnership with UNESCO for harnessingthe talents of young scientists in green chemistry.

For further information please contact:

OJSC PhosAgro

+7 495 231 2747

Irina Evstigneeva, Head of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations

PhosAgro is a leading global vertically integrated phosphate-based fertiliserproducer. The Group focuses on the production of phosphate-based fertilisers,feed phosphate and high-grade phosphate rock (with P2O5 content of not lessthan 39 percent), as well as ammonia and nitrogen-based fertilisers.

The Group is the largest phosphate-based fertiliser producer in Europe, thelargest producer of high-grade phosphate rock worldwide and the second largestMAP/DAP producer in the world (excluding China), according to Fertecon.PhosAgro is also a leading producer of MCP feed phosphates in Europe, and theonly producer in Russia.

PhosAgro has 2.1 billion tonnes of resources (according to JORC) of highquality apatite-nepheline ore, representing over 75 years of production. TheGroup also controls substantial Al2O3 resources and has 41% of Russia's rareearth oxides resources according to the G.P. Luzin Institute of EconomicProblems of the Kolskiy Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences(2010).

The Group's mines and phosphate rock production facilities are located in themountainous areas of the Kola Peninsula in the Murmansk region of northwestRussia, whereas its fertiliser and feed phosphate production assets are locatednear the city of Cherepovets in the Vologda region and near the city ofBalakovo in the Saratov region of southwest part of European Russia. PhosAgro's2011 IFRS revenue was over USD 3.4 bln and EBITDA was USD 1.2 bln. The Сompany'snet debt/EBITDA ratio was 0.43 at 31 December 2011.

For further information on PhosAgro please visit: www.PhosAgro.com