Farmers' Daily:
It is currently the critical period for spring farming. We know that there is huge demand for agricultural materials, and Hubei province is one of the major regions for phosphate fertilizer production in China. What measures have been taken to ensure the regular supply of phosphate fertilizers so as not to interrupt the farming season?
Xin Guobin:
A few days ago, General Secretary Xi Jinping gave important instructions on the country's agricultural production for spring, emphasizing that full effort should be made to organize spring farmingand production in order to ensure the farming season is not missed and to guarantee the summer grain harvest. Now is the crucial time to prepare fertilizers for farming in spring. A regular supply of phosphate fertilizers is extremely important for both spring farming and production. The main work we have done is as follows:
First, we have accelerated the resumption of work and production in phosphate fertilizer enterprises within Hubei province. We know that Hubei is an important production base for phosphate fertilizers in China, with its output of monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and diammonium phosphate (DAP) accounting for one third of the country's whole. In particular, places such as Yichang city have relatively high concentrations of phosphate fertilizer manufacturers in Hubei. As such, the MIIT is highly focused on the resumption of work and production of phosphate fertilizer enterprises in Hubei province. Back on Feb. 23, Minister Miao Wei personally spoke to the Yichang government by video link to learn about the resumption of work and production of local phosphate fertilizer enterprises, to study and resolve the existing difficulties and problems in transporting and funds, and to communicate and engage with the Hubei government and provincial joint prevention and control mechanism so as to promote the resumption of work and production in local phosphate fertilizer enterprises. As of March 10, a total of 19 of the 24 ammonium phosphate production enterprises had resumed production subject to the scheduling of Hubei province, and their ammonium phosphate production capacity has reached more than 80%. More enterprises are expected to resume work and production in the near future. Thanks to the resumption of work and production in Hubei enterprises, the province's annual production capacity is expected to surpass 10 million metric tons.
Second, we have linked the upstream and downstream of industrial chains and increased the total supply. We have enhanced trace scheduling of raw materials and accessories supply and production of ammonium phosphate enterprises in Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces as well as primary compound fertilizer enterprises across the country. With regards to raw materials and accessories supply, for example, we have helped contact relevant manufacturing enterprises to provide several alternative plans for some enterprises with problems getting supplies of raw materials. If one enterprise is unable to provide supplies, we will consider another one and help them connect. As for transportation support, we have promoted and coordinated to solve problems related to railway transport. For instance, some enterprises have manufactured phosphate fertilizers, but been unable to ship them out. We connected with the China Railway Corporation in a timely manner to help and coordinate with railway carriage problems. In terms of financial support, we have also helped to coordinate with the People's Bank of China in solving the liquidity issues of key phosphate fertilizer enterprises. The financial institutions have done a great job in this regard.
Third, we have filled the regional supply gap by strengthening the connection between production and demand. We have jointly issued a document with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs requiring that provincial agricultural, industry and information departments coordinate with local fertilizer producers. For provinces struggling with supply shortages, we will help them with cross-regional coordination. As of March 11, a total of 12 provinces have demanded to regulate supply. On the basis of considering the geographical distribution of supply and demand, as well as manufacturing enterprises' capacity to take new orders, we have recommended manufacturing enterprises to those in demand for them to choose from, effectively relieving the phosphate fertilizer shortage in some provinces. In the future, we will further follow up the fertilizer preparation for spring farming across the country. While ensuring the output, we will also coordinate allocation among regions. Thank you.
