Workers unload bags of fertiliser in Mandalay.

CHEMICAL fertiliser sales in Mandalay and upper Myanmar remain flat as the monsoon rains have failed to arrive on time, say a number of market sources.
“This year fertiliser sales have been very low because the rainfall in upper Myanmar has been limited, even though it’s been plentiful elsewhere.

“Because sales are slow the price has been coming down too. Chinese-made fertiliser is the most used in Mandalay and this is sent from here to surrounding areas,” Ko Kyaw Win, a fertiliser wholesaler, told The Myanmar Times.

He said imported fertiliser is more popular than the domestically manufactured varieties, with Thailand, India and China the major suppliers.

“The price of the Chinese fertilisers depends on the current exchange rate, transport charges and duties.

“Last year, the price of Chinese Pearl fertiliser was about K30,000 per bag [50 kilogram]. But this year that has fallen to only K18,000, or about one third of what it was last year,” he said.

Ma Myo Khine Oo from Pyit Tine Daun fertiliser shop said other factors are pushing demand and prices down.

“Last year we ended up distributing a lot of that fertiliser to Shan State, Yangon, Mawlamyine, Monywa, Shwe Bo, Khin Oo and Ye Oo via Mandalay. But those orders are reduced this year because the rains have not come properly and Yangon is receiving shipments of fertiliser from the United Arab Emirates,” she explained.

Several fertiliser sellers said that since 2005 the Chinese fertilisers have taken up a dominant position in the market because they are cheaper, with imports from India shrinking since December 2008.

Daw Thidar Khine, from Su San fertilisers, outlined the market situation.
“Among the 10 Chinese brands, the most popular are Pan Phuu [Flower Bud] and Shwe Taung [Golden Mountain].

“The former is the mostly used in Mandalay while the latter is more popular in Yangon,” she said.

She added that her company is now sending its shipments to Mawlamyine from Mandalay because the Mandalay-Mudone bus fare is cheaper than Yangon-Mudone, which the company previously did.

Peak business season for fertiliser sales runs from April to June, and August to October.

She also said the depressed prices have signalled the end to some extremely shady business practices, for now at least.

These practices would see distributors recycle the bags of the preferred fertiliser brands and fill them with cheaper materials.

“Now we can’t do things like that and the farmers are getting what they pay for. When companies refill those bags it’s quite obvious. And there’s really no shortage of the most popular brands anyway,” she said.

Another businessperson said the fertiliser industry was a slave to the weather.

“Last year fertiliser prices rose quickly but cooled dramatically at the end of the year. If the weather had been good farmers would have been happy because they would have had access to cheap fertiliser but that hasn’t been the case. The rains have not come and the prices have stayed cool. This business depends on both the weather and the price of agricultural products,” he said.