In an effort to curb the prevalent manufacturing and importation of low-quality and counterfeit fertilisers, the Viet Nam Association of Fertilisers signed a co-operative agreement . . .

Compared to the same period last year, there has been a 7 per cent decrease in the manufacture and trade of counterfeit fertilisers in the country.

Compared to the same period last year, there has been a 7 per cent decrease in the manufacture and trade of counterfeit fertilisers in the country. However, the percentage of low-quality fertilisers discovered in inspections remained very high at about 40 per cent, according to the head of the Cultivation Department Nguyen Tri Ngoc.

“The punishments imposed on businesses that violated regulations were not enough of a deterrent because fertiliser production can be highly lucrative,” said Ngoc.

Each year, Viet Nam’s agriculture sector needs 8 million tonnes of fertilisers. About 75 per cent of them can be counterfeited. The price for various fertilisers can range VND2-10 million (US$108-540) per tonne, meaning that a reduction of only 10 per cent in price can still bring a profit of VND2,400 billion ($129,820), according to Nguyen Tien Toat, deputy director of the Viet-Japanese Fertiliser Company.

“The important thing here is that perennial plants such as coffee and cocoa fertilised with counterfeit products may take years to recover due to the nutrition lost in the soil,” said Nguyen Hac Thuy, deputy chairman of the association.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is compiling a draft law that would regulate heavier administrative fines on businesses caught producing fake fertilisers.

The names of those enterprises would also be made public as a warning to consumers.

Statistics from 2008 indicate that there are more than 300 manufacturing enterprises in Viet Nam producing more than 3,000 varieties of fertiliser.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News