The defunct Irish Fertiliser Industries (IFI) has an estimated deficit of almost €45 million, according to a statement of affairs released at a creditors' meeting yesterday.

But IFI's owners - the Government and the British multinational ICI - have indicated that they will waive €34.48 million in loans to the company.

This reduces to €10.3 million the deficit in the fertilizer company, which was shut down last month after its management failed to produce a viable business plan. More than 630 workers lost their jobs.

Mr Ray Jackson of accountancy firm KPMG was appointed liquidator to the company at yesterday's meeting, which continued for more than two hours.

Journalists were excluded from the meeting after which former staff said management figures failed to provide adequate answers to their questions. An IFI spokesman told The Irish Times that managers would not be available to answer journalists' questions. Later on, however, the IFI managing director appeared in a brief interview on RTÉ.

The spokesman distributed a statement which Mr O'Brien read to the meeting. It said that the IFI board, management and employees had acted in the "best interest" of creditors. The statement added: "I regret the situation we are in and I hope that you will receive payment for the amounts owing to you. I also hope that it may be possible that elements of IFI's business will be sold by the liquidator as a going concern, and the board and management can help the liquidator to optimise the value of the assets of the business."

Some 1,000 ordinary trade creditors are owed €72.71 million by IFI and preferential creditors are owed €7.35 million. Secured creditors Ulster Bank, Barclay's and Bank of America are owed €55.75 million in loans and overdrafts, slightly more than previously reported. Some €33.69 million of this liability will be met from IFI's fixed assets, leaving €22.05 million to be paid from current assets.

Major trade creditors include Bord Gáis, which is owed €6.47 million, and the Viridian electricity supply subsidiary Energia, which is owed €1.02 million.

Other large creditors include Statoil UK, which is owed €1.17 million, and a Moroccan phosphate rock exporter, Office Cherifien des Phosphates, which is owed €1.28 million. The German consulting firm Kali und Salz is owed €1.48 million.

The statement of affairs showed the company reduced the value of its fixed assets to €33.69 million from a book value of €107.26 million. This included a write-down to €11.89 million from €99.11 million in the estimated realisable value of plant and machinery.

The estimated value of land and buildings in Cork, Arklow and Belfast was increased to €21.5 million from €6.3 million during that exercise.

It is understood, however, that an earlier statement of affairs projected that the company's land might be worth €43 million.