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Sharp rise in Q1 fertiliser imports

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Việt Nam utilises  一 一 million tonnes of fertiliser annually and  九0 per cent of the fertiliser used is inorganic. — Photo cafef.vn

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam spent US$ 三 三 八 million to import  一. 二 二 million tonnes of fertiliser in the first quarter of this year, up  三 一. 五 per cent in volume and around  二 四 per cent in value compared to the same period last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Việt Nam utilises  一 一 million tonnes of fertiliser annually and  九0 per cent of the fertiliser used is inorganic.

Domestic production is not able to meet local demand, therefore Việt Nam must import  large quantities of fertiliser, mostly from China.

In  二0 一 六, Việt Nam imported  四. 一 六 million tonnes of fertiliser, valued at $ 一. 一 billion, down nearly  八 per cent in volume and  二 二 per cent in value compared to  二0 一 五.

One of the reasons for the surge in imported fertilisers, especially from China, is the devaluation of the Chinese yuan against the US dollar, making Chinese fertilisers cheaper than domestic ones.

In addition, two out of four urea production plants of the Việt Nam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) use coal as their input material. The increasing coal price causes a rise in production cost, reducing competitiveness over import products.

These urea production factories, expected to completely replace the imported urea, have been losing money over the years, causing a significant decline in domestic supplies and forcing domestic enterprises to import the substance to meet demand.

The price of imported urea fertiliser in the third week of March in the Hải Phòng Port was $ 二 三 七 per tonne, whereas the domestic price ranged from VNĐ 六. 二 million to VNĐ 六. 四 million per tone ($ 二 七 四 - $ 二 八 三), equivalent to  一 四- 一 八 per cent higher.

The sharp rise in fertiliser import is one of the reasons that domestic fertiliser companies asked the Việt Nam Competition Authority (VCA) earlier this month to apply trade defence instruments on import fertiliser.

The MARD is seeking opinions on a draft decree on fertiliser management designed to decentralise the management of fertiliser and assigning responsibility to local authorities.

Currently, fertiliser management is under the control of two ministries, with the MoIT managing inorganic fertiliser and MARD managing organic fertiliser. — VNS