News concerning the fertilizer and agro-chemicals sector in Asia and the Pacific

AUSTRALIA

• Poor nations stand to lose because of distorted debate

• Balanced fertility: an important concept for Bangladesh
• Worries over pesticide overuse in Bangladesh

• Cambodian officials hope for a bumper rice harvest
• Calendar warns of paddy pests
• IPM: A priority in Asian rice production

• Fertilizer manufacturer plans US listing
• Fertilizer foray in southern China
• China's farmers to feel full force of WTO entry
• It's all in the mix
• China official presents plan to protect agricultural sector from WTO membership
• Chemical fertilizer industry lags behind
• Phosphate fertilizer supply exceeds demand
• Largest Chinese potash fertilizer project under construction
• Environmentally friendly agricultural chemicals will be the new trend
• Fertilizer plants plagued by surplus inventory
• China sets up an agricultural standardization system
• Fertility bank: China bank loans Qinghai Province money for potash fertilizer
• US firm cuts fertilizer production, Chinese plan big new plant
• The First International White Agriculture Workshop
• Can China balance the crop benefits and environmental downside of fertilizer?
• Chemical fertilizers -- blessing for Chinese agriculture or curse for China's environment
• China may soon be in market for wheat (25/5/99)

• Organochlorine pesticides found in Indian milk
• Dumping duty on phosphoric acid
• Government may slash subsidy on imported DAP
• India plans direct subsidy for agricultural exports
• Farmers must be assisted to face WTO
• New fertilizer policy on anvil
• Fertilizer units hit by gas shortage
• New fertilizer pricing mechanism hanging fire
• Fertilizer sector stops price war
• ERC report moots merger of fertilizer department with chemicals
• Linkage on naphtha prices: fertilizer units fear import surge
• Government reviewing urea policy
• Will new fertilizer policy be the panacea
• Erratic subsidy policy may hit fertilizer suppliers
• Panel to study feedback on fertilizer policy
• Policy to decontrol fertilizer industry on cards
• Government plans to promote use of bio-fertilizers
• Fertilizer Department plans panel to sort out WTO-linked problems
• FAI urges government to chalk out a long-term policy
• Fertilizer units seek total urea decontrol
• Foodgrain output may drop by 4 million tons
• Food output must rise by 5m tons: Swaminathan
• No new grassroots urea project till 2003/04
• Panel to examine use of coal as feedstock
• Distribution curbs on all fertilizers may be lifted
• Research renewed in India
• WB to give US$ 600 million aid for agriculture projects
• Prabhu hints at further fertilizer decontrol
• Fertilizer subsidy to cross Rs. 7 billion
• FAI against QRs removal on urea import under WTO regime
• New farm proposals retain India’s concern for food security
• Urea subsidy likely to touch record Rs. 100 billion
• Fertilizer sector in fix as ammonia plants close
• Fertilizer industry wants oil supply at a discount
• Urea imports may fall below 500,000 tons
• Indian partners want equal sharing of profit, loss
• India ranks third in fertilizer production
• Fertilizer Departent to help fertilizer companies prepare for year 2000
• World's largest fertilizer producer
• Customs duty imposed on fertilizers for first time
• Fertilizer use ratio worsens
• Fertilizer industry seeks stable pricing policy
• Fertiliser subsidy likely to go up by Rs.31 billion despite urea price hike
• India may cash in on global downtrend in urea prices
• GNFC plans to set up plant for urea, ammonia
• RCF offered stake in Togo rock phosphate mines
• Fertiliser subsidy likely to go up by Rs.31 billion despite urea price hike (Entered 3/5/99)

• 'War' raging to control pests in Indochina

• Three new plants enable Indonesia to produce 8 million tons of urea per annum by 2002
• Indonesian fertilizer shortage imperils food security
• Rice output to rise slightly

• Monsanto welcomes UNDP's Human Development Report 2001
• FAO tells WTO meeting: agricultural trade reform must consider the plight of developing countries where chronic undernourishment is an extreme manifestation of poverty
• Move to curb biotech crops ignores poor, UN finds. "Human Development Report 2001"
• A sinking feeling
• OECD shows that despite some improvements in the environmental impacts of agriculture, level of environmental damage caused by farming remain high in many OECD countries
• Hidden hunger threatens many crops
• FAO/WHO: amount of poor-quality pesticides sold in developing countries alarming high
• GE crops and pest management in the US
• IPM in the US seen as a mere illusion
• New group formed to promote global IPM
• Food crops: a target for biological warfare
• Bio-foods are excluded from new ‘organic’ definition
• Logic lost in fad theory that if it’s natural it must be good
• Trade globalization alone will not end hunger, poverty: FAO
• World Bank on “Gene Revolution”

• Bio-compost – a do-it-yourself fertilizer and money-saver
• Three hundred thousand tons of rice expected for 1999
• A little more fertilizer - a lot more rice
• Lao farmers lag behind Vietnamese on the agricultural learning curve, say expert

• Help for youth interested in mixing farming

• More and more switching to EM technology in Pokhara
• Export potential of Nepalese tea
• Farming sector yet to modernize
• Nepal introduces first fertilizer control order bill
• Nepal to strengthen agricultural research and extension

• Methyl bromide ban in November 2000 - a threat to Pacific Island trade

• Urea expansion project inaguarated (9/3/99)

• Plant variety protection worries rice researchers
• Farmers ignorant of pesticide misuse
• Fast-track Philphos sale
• Chlordane, highly toxic pesticide, banned in RP
• Fertilizer eyed for Viet rice

• It's not just kimchi

SRI LANKA

• Pest, yellow leaf disease strike paddy

• Ban possible on 12 toxic farm chemicals
• Pesticides policy will shield farm exports
• NFC seals deal to sell surplus acid
• Rural sector to get e-commerce initiative
• Company must find B1.3bn to avoid production halt
• NFC plans to reduce prices
• Soil testing programme for Thai farmers
• Ready for growth after years of infighting
• Japanese loan for Thai farmers
• Inconsistent policies stunt sector's growth
• Agriculture : farmer loans will replace fertilizer bidding system : corruption claims force major change
• Iranians to supply oil and fertiliser : Thais to send rice and rubber
• Funds sought for fertilizer subsidies (27/4/99)

• Greenpeace: golden rice over-hyped
• Saying "No" to transgenic crops
• Asia's interest in hybrid rice continues to grow

• Biogas bag for local farmers
• Energy and biofertilizer from garbage
• Viet Nam needs investors to take its agricultural success into the next century
• Viet Nam's Mekong delta reaps bumper harvest of rice (Entered 3/5/99)

IFA' s Agriculture and Fertilizer Newsletter