Thailand looking to China to solve fertiliser shortage: Commerce minister

China’s President Xi Jinping will attend the summit along with leaders of Apec’s 20 other member economies.
“If we get fertiliser from China at a special price, the shortage problem will be over,” the commerce minister said. However, China’s zero-Covid policy and its current restrictions on fertiliser exports could be hurdles to any deal, he said.
Jurin, who doubles as deputy prime minister, said Thailand’s fertiliser shortage had been eased by 400,000 tonnes imported from Saudi Arabia despite the high price on the world market.

The fertiliser price soared after Russia, one of the world’s largest producers, was hit by sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine in February.
Jurin said Thailand was now speeding up imports of fertiliser from Russia and Kazakhstan.
He added that the price of fertiliser depends on the price of the fuel used to produce it.
“If the price of oil and gas come down, the fertiliser price in the domestic market will get cheaper,” Jurin said.
Meanwhile the Commerce Ministry would combat profiteering from fertiliser by enforcing the law against overpricing of controlled goods, which carries punishment of up to seven years in prison, he said.