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Fake fertiliser, high prices leave farmers in a bind
Farmers, who have been facing pressure from increasing fertiliser prices, must now worry about low product standards and counterfeit products on the market.
Suspicious growers in Tan Hoa Dong Commune in Tien Giang Province recently reviewed the contents of one bag of fertiliser and found a mix of soil, chicken feathers and cigarette ash.
Bay Tam from My Thach Trung Commune in the southern province of Vinh Long said that some of the fertiliser he purchased had done nothing for his vegetables.
He said it did not even dissolve, but stayed on the surface and hardened like as clay.
Ho Anh Tuan from Hiep Thanh Ward, Nga Bay Commune, in the southern province of Hau Giang bought five bags of NPK fertiliser, which was hard and had a strange black colour.
"From outside, the fertiliser bags looked normal. However, when I put the contents on my seedlings, it didn’t dissolve," said Tuan.
Le Huu Hai, head of Agriculture and Rural Development in Cai Lay District of the southern province of Tien Giang, said he had many complaints from farmers about fertiliser that had little or no effect on vegetables.
Investigation results
Inspectors in Tien Giang sent 27 samples of fertiliser to HCM City’s Quality Measurement Technology Centre for inspection. Six out of 27 samples were not up to standard.
Hau Giang inspectors checked 156 out of 440 shops, agents and found 480 bags of fertiliser of low quality.
The bags were seized and the shops had to pay a fine.
"The shops and agents selling low quality fertiliser are located mostly in Vi Thanh and Nga Bay towns and in Long My District," said Nguyen Van Dong, director of Hau Giang’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department.
Vinh Long Province discovered six enterprises from HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Da Nang selling low quality products to farmers.
"Low-quality fertiliser has been around for a long time. However, due to weak punishments, most sellers don’t hesitate to pay a fine and then continue their violations," said Dao Van Chau, the chief inspector at Tien Giang’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department.
For example, enterprises producing fake products are only fined VND8-12 million (US$500-$750).
However, checking product quality takes over a month. During this time, agents and shops can still sell their product.
In HCM City since the beginning of this year, there have been about 26 cases of sub standard imports, according to the market-control department.
Last month, the Mai Khoi Trade Ltd Co tried to change the Sinochem of China trademark on nearly 800 tonnes of fertiliser to that of Kali Origin from Canada.
"We have been told to push investigations against low quality and fake fertilisers," said Dao Hai Ly from the market watch unit in Dong Nai Province.
The Southern Fertiliser Association has also asked market watch units to strictly punish violators.
"Farmers should be careful when they buy fertiliser. They should be determined to reject suspicious products," said Le Quoc Phong, chairman of the association.
Meanwhile, in the northern provinces, about five to 10 per cent of fertilisers are said to be not up to standard.
VNN
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