According to news from North Korea**, after urea, China has begun to restrict the export of ammonium phosphate, a raw material for fertilizers, and South Korean farmers are worried that it may cause a "fertilizer chaos". Two years ago, China controlled the export of urea and ammonium phosphate, which led to a sharp rise in South Korea's fertilizers.
On the 6th, the Ministry of Planning, Finance, Agriculture, Forestry and Food, and other relevant departments held a meeting with fertilizer-related importers, and said, "We have found that there is a trend of export control in China such as postponing the export inspection of ammonium phosphate, and we are intensively monitoring it. On the 4th, the Japanese news agency reported: "Since November, China has suspended the export process of a new batch of ammonium phosphate." "Ammonium phosphate and potassium chloride are both the main raw materials for the production of synthetic fertilizers, and China is the world's largest producer of ammonium phosphate.
The problem is that South Korea's dependence on China for ammonium phosphate imports is overwhelming. According to **, China accounted for 95 percent of the ammonium phosphate imports ($40.75 million) from January to October3%。If China takes measures to control ammonium phosphate for a long time, farmers will inevitably fear that the loss will become a reality. In 2021, when the "urea chaos" occurred, China not only restricted urea exports, but also fully controlled the export of ammonium phosphate. This led to the fact that the price of ammonium phosphate at that time almost doubled from $360 to $700 per tonne. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the chaos was only quelled when China lifted export controls before the following year's busy farming season.
As of the first quarter of next year (January to March), there will not be much difference in ammonium phosphate**. South Korea's annual ammonium phosphate demand is 1040,000 tons, 10,000 tons currently in reserve, and an additional 30,000 tons will be imported from other countries. The question is how long China's export controls will last. If China does not loosen restrictions before the busy farming season early next year, farmers will stock up, which in turn will lead to fertilizer chaos and chaos among farmers. South Korea** plans to mobilize all possible means of response based on China's export control situation. An official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food said, "Depending on the situation, we will discuss plans to diversify importers by importing ammonium phosphate from other countries such as Vietnam and Morocco, as well as converting the export of fertilizers from South Korean companies such as Nam Hai Chemical to domestic demand." ”
As we all know, South Korea's domestic agricultural industry is weak, recently due to labor shortages and other factors that have greatly affected the cultivation and picking of crops, restaurant ingredients are also rising, many restaurants and farmers in order to hire basic workers, do not hesitate to offer high salaries, but still have little effect, the future can be speculated that South Korea's agriculture and service industry will be more dependent on the international market.