The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development estimates that the country’s total demand for fertiliser will reach 10.3 million tonnes, up 700,000 tonnes compared with last year’s figure.

That amount is needed for 12 million hectares of cultivation area nationwide.

At a national seminar on the use of fertiliser in Vietnam, jointly held by the Vietnam Agriculture Science Institute and Vietnam Fertiliser Association in Can Tho City on March 5, ministry officials said the country will need 2 million tonnes of urea fertiliser.

The remaining amount includes other kinds of fertiliser including kali, DAP (di-ammonium phosphate), SA (sulphate of ammonium), NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium).

They estimated an import of 2.47 million tonnes, mainly SA, kali and DAP.

For DAP fertiliser alone, Vietnam will import about 570,000 tonnes mainly from China.
This year, Vietnam will also continue to import kali fertiliser. But that is expected to fall after the Vietnam Chemical Group’s project to exploit and process Kali salt in Laos is put into operation in the next two years.

According to the General Statistics Office, between 2009 and 2012, the country’s total fertiliser production rose by 8.9 percent or 1 million tonnes.

Fertiliser production in 2012 alone was 5.08 million tonnes, up by 8 percent compared with the figure in 2011.

Thanks to increased fertiliser production capacity, imports of fertiliser have fallen significantly.

In particular, in 2012, Vietnam imported about 3.74 million tonnes, worth a total of 1.6 billion USD, registering year-on-year decreases of 11.3 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively.

Thanks to improved production capital, Vietnam’s fertiliser exports in 2012 reached 1.23 million tonnes, up by 11 percent over 2011, which earned a total of 527 million USD, according to the Department of General Customs.

The Vietnam Market Analysis and Forecast Joint-Stock Company, Agro-Monitor, said that Vietnamese fertiliser products have been exported to 40 countries. Cambodia is the biggest export earner, with 192 million USD in 2012.

This year, Cambodia is expected to continue to be the biggest importer of Vietnamese fertilizer. The Philippines and Malaysia will rank second and third.

Other markets, including Laos, Japan, Ghana, Thailand and Myanmar, will be potential markets for Vietnamese fertiliser products in the coming years, according to the company.

Source: VNA