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Fertiliser industry aims to curb speculation
Efforts to stabilise fertiliser prices and avoid speculation will ensure demand is met for the winter-spring crop, the Fertiliser Association of Vietnam said.
"The association will take all necessary steps to avoid price volatility and speculation as it has occurred in previous years," Association Chairman Nguyen Hac Thuy said.
The nation's stockpile of fertiliser was more than 750,000 tonnes, he said.
"The country needs to import almost 200,000 tonnes of fertiliser to meet the demand."
The association has also proposed that the government encourage companies to increase productivity and to temporarily stop exporting fertiliser. The association urged the State Bank of Vietnam to increase the supply of foreign currency to import fertiliser.
The association said now was an important period for the winter-spring crop. In the Mekong Delta about 1.5 million hectares of paddy had been harvested. Farmers needed fertiliser to plant another 500,000 hectares which decided the productivity of the crop.
Meanwhile, the demand in the northern region is increasing. Although committing to stabilise the price, the association admitted there were many challenges to be faced. Since the beginning of the year, the price of fertiliser had kept increasing due to high price on the world market and dong devaluation, Thuy said.
"It is a big challenge for the domestic fertiliser industry to stabilise the price at such a volatile time."
For example, the price of urea fertiliser had jumped by 7.35 per cent in Can Tho city in the Mekong Delta over the last month, 5 per cent in central Danang and 4.1 per cent in HCM City.
Another challenge originated in China, the biggest urea exporter in the world.
"China increased the export tax on its urea from 10 per cent to 100 per cent," Thuy said.
Vietnam imports up to half of its urea requirements, 70 perc ent of its diammonium phostphate fertiliser and 100 per cent of potassium and SA fertiliser.
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