Vietnam Fertilizer Association: New term - new expectations
In the new term, the Vietnam Fertilizer Association will continue to provide comments, feedback and solicit opinions from member enterprises on legal documents and inappropriate policies that affect the operations of fertilizer enterprises. At the same time, it will promote international cooperation with IFA, with enterprises, schools and institutes of countries around the world.
According to the assessment of the Vietnam Fertilizer Association, the 2018-2023 term is a term with many fluctuations on a global scale, greatly affecting Vietnam. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a comprehensive and profound impact on all countries. The global economy has fallen into a serious recession. Along with the COVID pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war has affected the fertilizer industry on a global scale. The rapid increase in world fertilizer prices from November 2020 to around mid-2022 has greatly affected the supply of the fertilizer industry. These series of difficulties require the Vietnam Fertilizer Association to innovate its operating methods to be more effective.
Participate in policy development and management
The Vietnam Fertilizer Association has actively participated and contributed to the development of legal documents, from Laws to Strategies, Decrees, Technical Regulations, Circulars, etc. Specifically, the Association has commented on the draft Decree "Regulations on fertilizer management"; the draft Circular "Criteria system of the National Brand Program"; the draft "National technical regulations on fertilizer quality"; the draft Decree on chemicals under the Chemical Weapons Convention; the Strategy for the development of the chemical industry to 2030 (fertilizer is a sub-sector of the chemical industry); the draft Decree "Export Tariff, Preferential Import Tariff, List of goods and absolute tax rates, mixed tax, import tax outside the tariff quota"; the Law on Value Added Tax (amended)...
In addition to participating in the drafting of legal documents, the Association regularly conducts activities with state management agencies and organizations, such as meetings with the Domestic Market Group on the supply of essential goods, including fertilizers, at present and in the forecast; Participating in meetings of the Private Economic Committee (Committee IV) on proposals, recommendations, and receiving new information related to many fields, including the fertilizer industry; Participating in meetings of the VCCI on giving comments on legal documents, sustainable development, climate change, greenhouse gases, tax issues; Attending conferences on green development, greenhouse gases, climate change, etc., organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, etc.
The Association has participated in the fight against fake and poor quality fertilizers through coordination with Department 389, General Department of Market Management, and the media.
Protect member rights
In the last term, the Association has developed its membership more strongly than in previous terms (admitted 36 members). At the same time, it has played a good role in connecting and providing information to member enterprises. Specifically, connecting PVFCCo with a number of member enterprises in the program to build a Research and Development Center of PVFCCO; connecting Lao Cai Fused Phosphate and the Institute of Soil and Fertilizer Chemistry on the possibility of deploying a number of new types of fertilizers.... Organizing for 6 enterprises of the Vietnam Fertilizer Association to participate in the Exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City...
The Association has actively participated in protecting the rights of its members from tax-related cases such as VAT, export tax; cases related to packaging, analysis, transportation, and clearance of goods during the COVID pandemic... The Association has sent a dispatch to the Government Office to report to the Prime Minister on the difficulties that need to be resolved in the fertilizer industry; sent a dispatch requesting the Plant Protection Department to temporarily extend the packaging during the transition to new packaging. During the COVID period, the Hanoi Department of Transport and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport have been requested to prioritize vehicles transporting fertilizers...
When member businesses have problems that need to be resolved, the Association organizes specialized seminars to create forums for discussion. Many current issues are discussed such as "Powder containing fertilizers for crops"; "Fertilizers with climate change and green agriculture"; "Promoting the role of the fertilizer and pesticide industry in the agricultural value chain towards sustainable development"; "Businesses towards green agriculture, sustainable agricultural development"...
New term – new development opportunities
According to Dr. Phung Ha - New Chairman of the Fertilizer Association for the 2024-2029 term, although there are still many difficulties and challenges due to the complicated and unstable developments in the world and the region, the issue of climate change is becoming more and more challenging. It is worth mentioning that agricultural production is facing many difficulties and challenges in the period of international integration, climate change, environmental pollution; counterfeit goods, fake goods, false information... have not been thoroughly resolved, the Vietnam Fertilizer Association has identified key professional tasks, such as continuing to comment, criticize and collect opinions from member enterprises on legal documents, inappropriate policies, affecting the operations of fertilizer enterprises, for example, procedures on testing, quantity of fertilizer types.
The important content is to focus more strongly on the topic of fertilizer production and use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to responding to climate change.
The two important policy contents proposed by the Association are to amend the Value Added Tax (amended), the part related to fertilizers: Convert fertilizers from VAT-taxable items to VAT-taxable items at 5% and Propose to consider amending Decree 26 on fertilizer export tax rates according to the principle: Applying an import tax rate of 5% to fertilizers that are not yet produced domestically or do not meet demand, must be retained for domestic consumption and an import tax rate of 0% for fertilizers that are produced domestically enough or in surplus... At the same time, the Association will regularly exchange information, grasp the situation of developments in production activities, fertilizer trading markets at home and abroad to provide regular and timely information to the Association's members.
Regarding the work of consolidating and developing the organization, the Vietnam Fertilizer Association aims to develop the Association in both breadth and depth, mobilizing the admission of more collective and individual members from all economic sectors. The Association is responsible for protecting the legitimate rights and interests of its members. Pay attention to and encourage young members, especially current members, to participate more in the Association's activities. Review and boldly remove from the Association a few members who are not truly committed to the Association.
“The new term of the Fertilizer Association has begun, requiring each member, each member unit and the entire Association to be more united, better organized and make more efforts, striving to overcome all difficulties and challenges to approach new development opportunities and achieve more achievements.”
According to Natural Resources and Environment Newspaper