Vietnam Lacks 230,000 Tons of Fertilizer for Next Rice Crop

Vietnam Lacks 230,000 Tons of Fertilizer for Next Rice Crop

Vietnam faces a shortage of 230,000 tons of urea for the approaching summer-autumn rice crop, according to the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on April 4.

Local demand for urea is estimated at 500,000 tons, but the country currently has only 270,000 tons of the fertilizer in stockpile. Moreover, local businesses are reluctant to import the product, partly due to increasing import prices.

Vietnam imported around 468,000 tons of fertilizer worth US$92 million in the first three months of this year, of which, around 145,000 tons of urea constituted the largest amount, valued at US$35 million, down 75.5 per cent in volume and 68.8 per cent in value over the same period last year. It now imports urea with a price of around US$275 per ton, US$10 higher than early March.

The country, which is expected to import 1.6 million tons of urea this year, imported over 4 million tons of fertilizers, including more than 1.7 million tons of urea, worth US$819 million in 2004, down 1.9 per cent in volume but up 30.3 per cent in value over 2003.

The country houses over 150 fertilizer producers each with annual capacity ranging from 500 tons to one million tons.

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