Vietnam’s fertilizer and pesticide imports, especially from China, rose sharply in the first half of this year, compared to the same period last year, according to a Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development report.
Import shipments of pesticide and pesticide material in the six-month period grew a staggering 44% year-on-year to US$495 million. Besides, Vietnam purchased 2.34 million tons of fertilizer with a total cost of US$628 million, up roughly 24% and 18% against the year-ago period respectively.
Fertilizer products were mainly imported from China, which was responsible for around 36.3% of Vietnam’s all fertilizer imports in the first five months. For pesticides and materials for pesticide production, Chinese products also accounted for a staggering 55% of the total.
Given a petition over overwhelming imports of fertilizer, the Ministry of Industry and Trade decided to launch an investigation into DAP fertilizer imports two months ago. Safeguard measures would be taken against these imports if they are proven to cause material injury for the local industry.
The import bill of agricultural production-related material also rocketed, as the acreage was expanded over the year-ago period, and diseases of food crops followed in large numbers.
Import revenue from agricultural, forestry and fishery products totaled more than US$14 billion while their export bill brought in US$17.1 billion in the first half of this year. - VNN -