Yara has announced the acquisition of Ecolan Oy, a Finnish producer of recycled fertilisers. This is the company’s first acquisition in the organic fertiliser segment and reportedly reflects its commitment to play a larger role in organic farming and a circular economy.
“By expanding our offerings into the growing organic farming segment in Europe, we can help improve nutrient use efficiency in this segment by capitalising on our deep crop nutrition knowledge,” said Mónica Andrés, executive vice president for Yara Europe.
“Our core competence lies in managing nutrients in the most sustainable and efficient way, whether this is for organic farming or conventional farming. We want to be the leading partner for all farmers, regardless of which farming system they use.”
Ecolan Oy uses industrial side streams to produce organic fertilisers for agricultural and forestry operations. The two companies had previously worked together when Yara introduced a new organic fertiliser with a high nitrogen content to the Finnish market in 2019.
“Ecolan is a Finnish front-runner in the circular economy,” said Timo Räsänen, director for speciality products for the Nordic and Baltic countries at Yara. “We have had excellent cooperation during the past few years. Now, we can combine Yara’s and Ecolan’s knowledge and expertise to develop recycled fertilisers even further. With this acquisition, we will be able to also offer organic fertilisers to markets outside Finland.”
Vesa Lehtomäki, chairman of the board of Korona Invest, Ecolan’s majority owner, said: “Starting from small-scale production, Ecolan has grown into one of Finland’s leading circular economy industrial companies. Through Yara’s ownership, Ecolan’s expertise can offer immense value internationally as well.”