PHILIPPINE fertilizer imports this year could rise by at least 8.33 percent to 2.6 million metric tons, from last year’s 2.435 MMT, according to the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA).
The FPA noted that the output of local manufacturers could no longer meet the increasing demand of farmers for fertilizer. Farmers use fertilizer to hike crop yields.
“Imports would be higher this year compared to last year as local production continues to decline,” FPA Executive Director Wilfredo C. Roldan told the BusinessMirror in a recent interview.
“Imports would reach about 2.6 [MMT]. We do not have much of [local] production anymore. Our consolidated output last year was only around 300,000 [metric tons],” Roldan added.
Local fertilizer output last year fell slightly to 312,892 metric tons, from 313,773 MT recorded in 2016.
The bulk of local fertilizer produced last year was complete fertilizer, which reached 213,670 MT. The figure was 28.71 percent higher than 2016’s record of 166,010 MT, according to FPA data.
The country’s fertilizer imports last year were 8.2 percent higher than the 2.25 MMT posted in 2016.
“The increased demand for fertilizers can be attributed to the increasing number of dealers or importers which were issued permits and licenses by the agency,” the FPA said in its annual report.
The bulk of the country’s fertilizer imports last year, or 40.49 percent of the total volume, was urea. However, urea imports in 2017 fell by 6.2 percent to 985,917 MT, from 1.051 MMT recorded in 2016.
In terms of prices, Roldan said there will be a “slight, but not significant” increase in the prices of fertilizer this year due to the recovery of global oil prices.
Roldan added that the continued depreciation of the peso against the dollar is also making imported fertilizer more expensive, as majority of the farm input sold commercially are produced in other countries.
The monthly monitoring report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the retail prices of four major fertilizer grades in June expanded on an annual and monthly basis.
The average retail price of urea last month reached P1,009.78 per 50-kilogram bag, which was 11.23 percent higher than the P907.81 average quotation in June 2017. The June quotation was slightly higher than the average of P1,004.84 per bag recorded in May.
On an annual basis, the retail prices of complete fertilizer rose slightly by 0.68 percent to P1,108.68 per 50-kilogram bag, while a sack of ammosul went up by 6.18 percent to P592.88 per bag in June.
Furthermore, a 2.35-percent year-on-year increment in the retail price of ammophos was observed last month as its average quotation reached P930.21 per bag.