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Mr. Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. - Minister of Agriculture of the Philippines, said: In the immediate future, the Philippines wants to import fertilizer from Vietnam and gradually cooperate in fertilizer production to serve the needs of the country's agricultural industry.

On the afternoon of July 6, the Minister of Agriculture of the Philippines visited and worked with Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company at Long Dinh Industrial Park (Can Duoc, Long An).

Minister Tiu Laurel said: Although the Philippine agricultural industry is developing strongly, it has not exploited its full potential. This visit is an opportunity for the two countries to learn together and share experiences and techniques to improve agricultural production for both sides.

Despite having a very large agricultural production area, with over 4.6 million hectares of rice land alone, the country currently has only two fertilizer production enterprises. Every year, this country has to provide fertilizer subsidies to farmers through price subsidies with a total amount of up to 200 million USD. Vietnam is the world's leading rice producer, so the Philippines wants to learn from Vietnam's experience and knowledge from this field.

The head of the Philippine agricultural industry said that during this visit to Vietnam we want to learn how to import fertilizer from Vietnam. Imports can be directly between businesses or imported through government channels. After that, joint venture companies can be established to produce and sell fertilizer directly to farmers in the Philippines.

Mr. Ngo Van Dong, General Director of Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company , expressed his pleasure to welcome the Minister and the delegation of the Philippine Ministry of Agriculture. 

"We also look forward to cooperating with farmers as well as the agricultural industry and the Philippine Government. I also agree with the Minister that we will first distribute products to the Philippine market. Next, we will invest into the field of researching land and soil conditions to establish appropriate steps as well as create high quality products to serve the needs of the Filipino people. The market is available, the natural conditions are right Vietnam and the Philippines are a good opportunity for this cooperation. The problem is that we need to continue investing in science and technology to improve fertilizer use efficiency," Mr. Dong said enthusiastically.

Professor-Dr. Nguyen Van Bo, Chairman of the Scientific Council of Binh Dien Company, added: "Binh Dien Company with Dau Trau fertilizer brand has been a familiar name for many years with Vietnamese farmers. Our fertilizer products are carefully researched, designed and tested in the field before being manufactured into commercial products. Binh Dien not only sells fertilizer products but also provides product solutions agricultural production to achieve economic, social and environmental goals at the same time. The proof is that we are also a participant in the 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice project of the Ministry of Agriculture and Development. rural development in Vietnam".

At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to establish a joint working group to directly exchange details on fertilizer imports as well as soil science data with a view to cooperation in fertilizer production. "According to the introduction, I see that Binh Dien is exporting products to the west (Cambodia, Laos), so now it may be time to sell to the east - the Philippines," Mr. Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. emphasize. 

For many years, the Philippines has been the world's largest rice importer and is also Vietnam's largest rice import customer. In 2024, the country is expected to import about 4.1 million tons of rice. In the first 5 months of 2023, the Philippines' total rice imports reached 1.97 million tons, an increase of 20.3% compared to the first 5 months of 2023. Vietnamese rice is still popular and is the largest rice supplier to the market. this market with 1.1 million tons.

The Philippines is a famous exporter of many tropical fruits such as bananas, coconuts, and China recently signed a protocol for fresh durian fruit .

Source : thanhnien