Visitors at Agro Chemicals Vietnam, which opened in HCM Citys Tan Binh Exhibition and Convention Centre on July 16. — VNS Photo Xuan Huong

HCM CITY (Biz Huh) — The first International Exhibition and Conference on Agricultural Fertilisers, Chemicals and Machinery in Viet Nam opened in HCM City on July 16.

Agro Chemicals Vietnam has almost 100 booths set up by exhibitors from nine countries involved in the production and distribution of fertilisers, pesticides, agricultural machinery and chemicals, vegetable and fruit seeds, and other related products.

The two-day event will also feature conferences on the pesticide and fertiliser market and government regulations on production and trading of pesticides and fertilisers in Viet Nam, Thailand, Cambodia, and India.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Tran Xuan Dinh, deputy head of the Crop Production Department, said, "Viet Nam needs more than 11 million tonnes of fertilisers a year, including 2.2 million tonnes of urea, 3.8 million tonnes of NPK, over 1.8 million tonnes of phosphate, 900,000 tonnes of DAP and 850,000 tonnes of SA, and 400,000-500,000 tonnes of micro-organic and foliar fertilisers."

The countrys fertiliser and agro-chemical industry has made great strides in the past years, with a series of fertiliser plants going on stream, he said.

"But we still need to import a large amount of fertilisers and chemicals used in fertiliser production."

Viet Nam imports around 3 million tonnes of fertilisers worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year, mainly SA, DAP, potassium, urea and NPK, he added.

The exhibition at the Tan Binh Exhibition and Convention Centre, organised by Minh Vi Exhibition and Advertisement Services Co Ltd, is expected to welcome 2,500 visitors. — VNS