VINACHEM

This year, due to higher fertiliser prices and low rice prices, the costs rose to VND3 million per sao while the revenues fell to VND5 million per sao, dragging down his profits.

Not only rice and coffee farmers are being hard-hit by high fertiliser prices, but also dragon fruit farmers. Dragon fruit farmers have been selling their produce at a loss since China tightened its COVID-19 preventive measures. Now, mounting fertiliser bills are adding to their woes. Many dragon fruit farmers in Binh Thuan Province said that they were likely to go bankrupt if the situation did not improve.

Parts of fertiliser used in Viet Nam are imports so its fertiliser prices normally move in line with the world market’s prices. Vietnamese fertiliser importer and supplier Vinacam forecasted that DAP fertiliser prices would continue to rise until China gets its exports back to normal.

In response to the continuously soaring prices, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued Directive No.653, urging authorities to instruct farmers how to efficiently use fertiliser to reduce farming costs.

Farmers have been called on to replace inorganic fertiliser with that made from domestic waste and compost, and organic fertiliser to cut costs further.  - VNN-