May 28, 2012
Vietnam''s fertiliser exports reach US$215 million
Vietnam has shipped 485,729 tonnes of fertiliser worth US$215.58 million, the Viet Nam newspaper reported Friday (May 25).
Of the amount, the country exported 425,350 tonnes of fertilisers worth US$188.169 million in the first four months of this year, up 122.2% and 173.4% on year, respectively, the newspaper said, citing the data of the General Department of Customs under the Ministry of Finance.
The low demand in the domestic market is the main reason for Vietnam''s fertiliser export increase, said Do Van Hung, general director of Viet My Fertiliser JSC.
Local traders lack capital resources to buy fertilisers from local processing plants, forcing the plants to seek to export their products, Hung added.
Meanwhile, the country''s imports of fertilisers dropped during January-April. According to the customs agencies, the country imported 848,420 tonnes worth US$373.278 million, down 34.3% and 21.9%.
The country is expected to import less fertiliser this year thanks to the Ca Mau urea fertiliser plant and Ninh Binh urea fertiliser plant which have annual capacity of 800,000 tonnes and 560,000 tonnes, respectively. The first already started to operate in late January while the second is scheduled to begin its production in late June.
However, the country still has to import SA and 900,000 tonnes of potassium fertilisers, mostly from China, the Philippines, Belarus and Canada.