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Fertiliser industry needs strategy
Viet Nam was importing up to 100 per cent of its fertiliser requirements, the Information Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agroinfo) said.
About 90 per cent of the urea used, 70 per cent of the potassium diammonium phosphate (DAP) and all the sulphate ammonia (SA), as well as potassium fertiliser, is imported to satisfy domestic demand.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has estimated the demand for fertilisers for the coming summer-autumn rice crop of about 1.84 million tonnes will include 400,000 tonnes of urea, 170,000 tonnes of SA, 200,000 tonnes of potassium, 160,000 tonnes of DAP and 910,000 tonnes of NPK.
Domestic fertiliser prices depend on fluctuations in world price, which often sit at high levels. Fertilisers often accounts for 30 to 40 per cent of agricultural product prices.
Retail fertiliser prices in some regions have risen VND100-500 per kilogram. Urea price in the Southern provinces of Kien Giang and Dong Thap rose VND240 to VND6,540 (US$0.37) while that of potassium is between VND12,800-13,000 after rising VND200-500.
Demand for the summer-autumn rice crop is increasing sharply, which will have a negative influence on farmers' incomes.
Agroinfo manager Pham Quang Dieu said the industry would continue to operate without long-term growth strategies and management while policies remained passive.
Agroinfo's database on fertiliser industry shows Viet Nam has since 1999 had about 60 legal documents regulating the industry. All are continuously replaced and have limited use.
"To minimise dependence on imports, the ministry is boosting research on advanced fertiliser production technologies while encouraging farmers to use bio-fertilisers to reduce production costs," said the head of MARD's Cultivation Department, Nguyen Tri Ngoc.
Demand for fertiliser is expected to increase throughout the world and especially in many developing countries during the coming decades.
"Prominent fertiliser corporations worldwide will pour significant capital into developing countries and Viet Nam needs a long-term growth strategy for the industry," Ngoc said.
vietnamnet, vietnamnews
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