Viet Nam spent US$839 million to import 2.97 million tonnes of fertiliser in the first nine months of this year, down 17.4 per cent in volume and 13.1 per cent in value compared to the same period last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported.

In the period, SA fertiliser is estimated at 697,000 tonnes with import value of $90 million, a decrease of 11.6 per cent in volume and 3.7 per cent in value. However, the import volume of URE fertiliser was estimated at 360,000 tonnes with the value of $101 million, up 5.8 per cent in volume and 18.7 per cent in value.

Fertiliser imports in the first eight months of 2018 mainly came from China and Russia, accounting for 46.5 per cent of the total import value. However, fertiliser imports from China fell sharply, down 30.4 per cent year-on-year.

Viet Nam also spent $78 million to import pesticides and raw materials in September, lifting total imports of the commodities in the first nine months of this year to $681 million, a year-on-year decrease of 3.9 per cent.

Imports of pesticides and raw materials from January to August were mainly from China, accounting for 49.4 per cent of the total import value. However, the value of imports from China also fell by nearly 17 per cent in the reviewed period. In contrast, the value of imports of these items increased in major markets such as the UK (up 23.4 per cent), India (up 18.2 per cent) and Malaysia (up 17.4 per cent). — VNS