High fertilizer prices, farmers face difficulties

Fertilizer prices in Tay Ninh province have been continuously climbing in recent months, pushing up production costs; while output prices of agricultural products have not stabilized, thousands of farming households are having to shoulder tens of millions of dong more each crop. This not only directly affects profits but also creates considerable pressure on the locality's goal of sustainable agricultural development.

Fertilizer prices at agricultural supply stores in the province increased by 10-15% compared to 2024.

Increased production costs

In early September 2025, fertilizer prices listed at agricultural supply stores in the province all increased compared to the same period in 2024. Specifically, Urea fertilizer ( Ca Mau ) from 700,000-750,000 VND/50kg bag; DAP fertilizer (Korea) from 1,420,000-1,450,000 VND/50kg bag; NPK fertilizer 20-20-15 (Con Co) from 1,000,000-1,100,000 VND/50kg bag. Compared to 2024, this price has increased by 10-15%, causing farmers' investment costs to increase by tens of millions of VND per crop.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh - a lemon farmer in Binh Thanh commune, shared: "My family has more than 2 hectares of land for growing lemons, each crop needs about 2-3 tons of fertilizer. With the current price, the cost of fertilizer has increased by 6-7 million VND compared to last year. The price of lemons is unstable, and the input cost has increased, farmers are very worried."

Similarly, Mr. Vo Van Dung - a rice farmer in Thanh Phuoc commune, said: "One hectare of rice needs about 300-350kg of urea, 150kg of potassium and nearly 200kg of phosphate fertilizer. With the current price, the cost increases by about 2 million VND/ha. My family has 5 hectares of rice, so we have to spend nearly 10 million VND more."

Not only fertilizers, pesticides also account for a significant proportion of production costs, although prices were generally stable last week. Some popular types being sold on the Tay Ninh market include: fungicide: Tilt super 300EC (250ml) priced at 210,000-220,000 VND/bottle, Fuan 40EC (480ml) priced at 75,000-85,000 VND/bottle; herbicide: Push 33EC (250ml) priced at 235,000-240,000 VND/bottle, Xevelo 120EC (480ml) priced at 560,000-580,000 VND/bottle; Pesticides: Pexena 106SC (100ml) price 462,000 VND/bottle, Incipio 200SC (8ml) price 50,000 VND/pack.

According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Environment, fertilizer costs usually account for about 25-30% of total production costs, while pesticides account for 15-20%. At current prices, farmers' total input costs have increased by 10-20% compared to last year, putting great pressure on incomes - which are already unstable.

Need to stabilize prices soon

Farmers fertilize autumn-winter rice crop

According to agricultural material businesses, the reason for the high fertilizer prices comes from many factors such as scarce world supply, increased transportation costs, and fluctuating gas prices - the main raw material for nitrogen fertilizer production.

Mr. Nguyen Van Cuong - owner of an agricultural supplies store in Tan Long commune, said: "The same type of fertilizer, if a year ago it was only imported for 12,000-13,000 VND/kg, now it has to be paid up to 15,000-16,000 VND/kg. The store sells at a high price because the original price has increased, no one wants to make it difficult for farmers."

In general, fertilizer prices depend heavily on the international market, making it difficult to intervene directly. The provincial agricultural sector recommends that farmers increase the application of economical fertilization processes, balance NPK, and use organic microbial fertilizers to reduce cost pressure. The province will coordinate with businesses to implement programs to stabilize the agricultural materials market.

To reduce dependence on imported fertilizers, many cooperatives in Thanh Hung and Khanh Hung communes have started producing organic fertilizers from agricultural by-products. Director of Cay Trom Agricultural Trade Service Cooperative (Khanh Hung commune) Bui Van Tuan said: "Each year, the cooperative can provide dozens of tons of organic fertilizers to members, at a price only 40-50% of inorganic fertilizers. Although it cannot completely replace fertilizers, it still helps reduce fertilizer costs by 20-30%.

The province is orienting the development of chain linkage models, in which enterprises both supply input materials at reasonable prices and consume output products.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Dinh Thi Phuong Khanh, the long-term solution is to develop green agriculture, apply high technology, and reduce dependence on imported fertilizers. The province also encourages farmers to join cooperatives to have collective purchasing power, thereby reducing production costs.

In fact, some organic farming models, high-quality rice farming, low-emissions have proven effective in reducing 30-40% of inorganic fertilizer costs, stable productivity, higher quality agricultural products, and easy access to export markets.

The rising price of fertilizers is a concern for farmers. To overcome difficulties and help farmers feel secure in production, it is necessary to soon have synchronous solutions from stabilizing prices, diversifying supply sources, promoting on-site organic fertilizer production, to expanding chain linkages./.

Minh Tue

Source: https://baolongan.vn/gia-phan-bon-tang-cao-nong-dan-gap-kho-a202697.html