Experts from the Information Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agroinfo) have predicted that the price of fertilizer will increase in the second half of the year, but their outlook is not shared by everyone.
The price of fertilizer might see a slight increase in the second half of the year, despite the abundant supply, said Truong Hong Kim, an expert at Agroinfo, blaming the soaring costs of materials like crude oil and coal on it.
“Moreover, importers and exporters are now facing the challenges caused by international currency exchanges. So, fertilizer prices may still raise in the second half,” Kim added.
Other experts, however, assured consumers that the fertilizer prices would not increase.
Nguyen Tien Toat deputy director of the Vietnam-Japan Fertilizer Company said that current fertilizer prices in the Mekong Delta region had fallen to around VND6.5 million (US$300) per ton.
Some others believed that the price could not increase because the price of agricultural products has fallen, which means that farmers will not be able to afford fertilizer and fertilizer companies will not be able to sell their products at all, said Toat.
“If import-export activities remain stable, companies will be able to meet domestic demand. So prices will remain stable,” said Toat.
The fertilizer market has fluctuated since early this year with prices falling by 30 per cent to 40 per cent compared to the same period last year.
A report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows that Vietnam currently has 300 firms producing fertilizer, 35 companies exporting the product and 20 representative offices of foreign fertilizer companies.
Demand for fertilizer this year is expected to be 7.8 million tons, including four million tons needed for the remaining months of this year.
In the first half of the year, the country imported 2.1 million tons of fertilizer with a total revenue of US$665 million. Imports from China account for 40 per cent of the total imported value for fertilizer. (Vietnam Agriculture)
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