|
Ministry contradicts claims of fertilizer shortage
Fertilizer producers all say that prices will increase due to shortages. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade counters these assertions by stating that supplies are abundant.
According to the Vietnam Fertilizer Association (VFA), imports and domestic products will be just enough for the upcoming summer-autumn crop. Yet since the supply is limited, prices will rise.
Le Quoc Phong, Director of Binh Dien Fertilizer Company, explained that farmers are not buying fertilizer right now because of the bad weather. Meanwhile, the fertilizer price is on the increase so, when the crop comes, farmers will have to buy fertilizer at higher rates.
A company representative noted that input expenses have climbed due to higher electricity and coal rates, so fertilizer prices will rise too. Phan Dinh Duc, General Director of PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemicals, observed that fertilizer prices will increase significantly due to high production costs created by gas hikes.
According to VFA, fertilizer prices around the world are rising. The DAP price, for example, has increased by $120 per ton compared to the beginning of 2010, while urea prices have risen by $25 per ton, ammonias by $125 and sulphur by $130.
VFA blamed this trend on material shortages. Many foreign fertilizer plants have halted production, while the volume of fertilizer used in the world has risen, sa in India (+30-35 percent), the US (20-25 percent) and Pakistan (12-15 percent).
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) dismissed this analysis, stating that there is no reason for fertilizer prices to increase.
MOIT observed that urea prices have been decreasing since mid March 2010, now trading at $269-300 (Down by $18), while DAP is trading at $420 per ton (Down by $10).
MOIT does not know why many fertilizer companies raised prices in March. Phu My Fertilizer, for example, jacked up the price ceiling on urea from 7000 dong to 7200 dong per kilo.
MOIT has affirmed that the supply is plentiful, thanks to big stocks of imports.
Counterfeit fertilizer remains a headache
Nguyen Hac Thuy, VFA Chair, has warned that counterfeit products are being sold on the market.
Government agencies recently discovered low quality counterfeit fertilizer, with kali content at 0.1 percent only, despite packaging that claimed 60 percent.
Even more dangerously, many enterprises imported prohibited substances to use as materials to make fertilizer.
vietnamnet, NLD
|
