Friday, October 12, 2007 Strong peso to bring down farm products
WHILE exporters have been lamenting about the peso’s appreciation, an official of a company that manufacturers fertilizers said the recent developments in the foreign exchange market would benefit the country’s farming sector.
Atlas Fertilizer Corp. (AFC) senior vice president and resident manager Jesus Sy said the continued rise of the peso’s value against the dollar is good news for the company, which imports raw materials.
“The exchange rate really helped us (because) we import most of the materials and resources used in manufacturing fertilizers and pesticides among other products,” he told reporters during AFC’s 50th anniversary celebration.
He said this development will make AFC products cheaper and more affordable to farmers. “We will be passing on the cheap rates to customers,” he added.
Since the peso’s value has gone up, importers like AFC can buy more dollars to pay for goods or raw materials they import.
High levels
The peso—which closed at 44.05 to the US dollar yesterday— rose to 45 the dollar last June, worrying the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Since then, the peso has reached levels it had not obtained since September 2000.
Exporters are apprehensive about the peso’s continued rise as it makes Philippine exports expensive and less competitive.
AFC imports nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, which are used in manufacturing fertilizers, from countries like Canada, China, Taiwan, Qatar, Indonesia and Japan.
If farmers could take advantage of cheap fertilizers, prices of farm products, including rice, will also go down, Sy said.
He said AFC is also developing products and technologies to improve the country’s agricultural yield.
“We are coming up with ‘special rates’ and are becoming more scientific,” he said.
He said the company is developing crops and soil specific fertilization technology where one can “apply the fertilizer based on soil and crop analysis.”
AFC, founded in 1957, is the “first integrated fertilizer complex in the country.” (TEP)
