Market and product

As global food security faces mounting pressure from climate change, population growth, and soil resource degradation, the fertilizer industry is confronted with the need for structural transformation. Farming practices that rely primarily on increasing the application of chemical fertilizers—while once instrumental in boosting yields—have now revealed clear limitations in nutrient-use efficiency and environmental impact. This reality compels the chemical and fertilizer sector to seek new technological solutions that can both meet agricultural production demands and align with sustainable development goals.

Recent review studies published in Nature in 2025 point to a clear shift in crop nutrition, moving from a “maximum input” model toward a “precision supply” paradigm. Central to this transition is the 4R nutrient stewardship philosophy—right source, right rate, right time, and right place—applied flexibly according to specific soil conditions, climates, and farming systems. Building on this foundation, next-generation fertilizer technologies are being developed to enhance nutrient-use efficiency, reduce losses, and minimize environmental emissions.

Among current approaches, enhanced-efficiency fertilizers are regarded as a key driver of innovation. By controlling nutrient release through biological, chemical, or physical mechanisms, these products significantly reduce nitrate leaching, ammonia volatilization, and greenhouse gas emissions. Notably, recent research has focused on addressing the environmental footprint of coating materials, moving toward biodegradable materials and hydrogel-based structures to avoid the risk of microplastic accumulation in soils. At the same time, scientists caution against the phenomenon of “pollution swapping,” whereby reducing one type of emission may inadvertently increase another, underscoring the need for integrated and cautious product design.

In parallel, nano-fertilizers and biofertilizers are opening new research pathways based on advanced materials and rhizosphere microbiomes. Nanotechnology is expected to enhance nutrient uptake, particularly for micronutrients, while biofertilizers harness the role of microorganisms in mobilizing and transforming nutrients in soil. However, field studies indicate that not all novel solutions deliver the anticipated benefits in the absence of solid plant physiological foundations and long-term experimental data. This highlights the need for rigorous evaluation and cautions against premature commercialization when scientific evidence remains insufficient.

Looking further ahead, scientists are advancing the concept of smart fertilizers capable of responding to biological signals from crops and soil environments. Although still largely at the research stage, these technologies show strong potential to tightly integrate plant nutrition, soil microbiology, and materials science, paving the way for more precise and sustainable farming systems.
Nevertheless, the journey from laboratory to field remains fraught with barriers, including high production costs, limited stability under real-world conditions, and the lack of harmonized standards and evaluation frameworks at the global scale. These challenges are not purely technical; they also involve policy, governance, and collaboration among industry, research institutions, and regulators.

For Vietnam’s chemical and fertilizer industry, these technological shifts carry strategic significance. Proactively tracking global trends, investing in research, and progressively mastering next-generation fertilizer technologies will not only enhance the efficiency of domestic agricultural production, but also create a foundation for increasing product value and meeting the increasingly stringent environmental standards of international markets. In the long term, this represents a critical pathway for Vietnam’s fertilizer sector to integrate more deeply into the global agricultural value chain in a greener and more sustainable manner.