Complex Managing Director Masood Jamshidi told reporters that domestic urea consumption was 1.2 million tonnes a year.

"The four urea fertiliser producing units of the complex produce more than 1.8 million tonnes of urea fertiliser in combination," IRNA quoted Jamshidi as saying in the northeastern province of Khorasan.

He said 300,000 tonnes of the total was exported each year.

Jamshidi said the complex was holding talks with Austria, Italy, Canada, France, China and India to import the technology for the establishment of crystal melamine, sulphur coated urea, aluminium sulphate and sulphuric acid fertiliser production units at a cost of $135 million plus 70 billion rials ($23 million).

He said delegations from the countries would visit the complex soon.

The Khorasan Petrochemical Complex, built at a cost of 520billionrials plus $524 million, came on stream in July, 1996.

Iran has said it produced 10 million tonnes of petrochemicals in the Iranian year to March 20, 1998. It said petrochemical exports rose 10 percent to $560 million, but fell short of a target of $650 million due to Asia's economic crisis.

Iran is the Middle Easts largest petrochemical producer after Saudi Arabia and aims to triple its annual output to 30 million tonnes in 25 years.