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Fertilizer producers to exceed annual estimate
Local fertilizer makers are set to break their 2009 estimate while the country will still need to import much of the 7.8 million tons of fertilizers it is likely to need this year, according to a recent report.
The report released at a fertilizer market conference in Hanoi Wednesday estimated that local fertilizer demand for 2009 would include 1.7 million tons of urea and nearly 1.9 million tons of NPK.
If local firms keep production unchanged from the first half, their output can exceed initial annual estimates of 470,000 tons of urea, 1.2 million tons of NPK, and 1.3 million tons of phosphate, said Truong Hong Kim from the Institute of Policy and Strategy for the Agriculture and Rural Development.
To meet the fertilizer demand from now to the end of this year, the country is expected to import 430,000 million tons of urea, 270,000 tons of NPK, and 100,000 tons of DAP.
Import prices are likely to be higher in the second half as higher crude oil costs push up global fertilizer prices.
Kim said a forex shortage could act as a barrier for fertilizer importers.
Vietnam imported over 2.2 million tons of fertilizers worth $710 million in the first half of this year, respectively down 0.4 percent and 33.7 percent over the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office.
The country has to import all SA and kalium fertilizers it uses.
Ngan Anh
thanhnien
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