Ethiopia Importing 67% of Its Fertilizer Needs: Ministry

April 4,2022 (ENA) The Ministry of Agriculture said that Ethiopia started importing 67 percent of its fertilizer needs procured in October last year for the current production season.

State Minister of Agriculture, Sofia Kasa, told ENA that the country needs 19 million quintals of chemical fertilizer for the current agricultural production season, of which12.8 million quintals were bought in October 2021.

 Sofia added that of 7.8 million quintals of  procured fertilizer types, 3.8 million quintals have arrived in the Port of Djibouti.

“We need a total of 1.9 metric tons of fertilizer in the current farming season, completing the  procurements of 12.8 million quintals of NPS and Urea fertilizer types, including biding, for  transporters.”  

The country has started transporting 12.8 million quintals, which is 67 percent of the 19 million quintals of fertilizer needs for the current agricultural production season in Ethiopia, Sofia stated.

Three ships loaded with 1.8 million quintals of fertilizer from Morocco are in their way to Djibouti port , she added.

“To increase the productivity and production of agriculture, we are distributing inputs. But the farmers should consider efficient use of fertilize given the shortage and rising price of fertilizer. In this regard, farmers have to adhere to expert advice on how to efficiently utilize fertilizers and ensuring  efficient use of fertilizer will be our tasks too.”  

According to the state minister, the current international market price of chemical fertilizer has doubled compared to the price in Ethiopia. The state minister attributed the rising price to the global market due to the United States reduction of phosphate production and export restrictions of Russia  and China to the global market.