Phuket steps up fertiliser production as Thailand faces import supply risks

Phuket is expanding fertiliser production as Thailand faces rising supply risks from its heavy reliance on imports, with the issue sharpened by talks to bring in 1 million to 2 million tonnes of urea from Russia each year. The push comes as Thailand imports more than 90% of its chemical fertiliser and uses an estimated 4 million to 5 million tonnes annually, leaving agriculture exposed to global market shocks and disruptions tied to conflict and shipping routes.

National import data shows how concentrated that risk is. China supplies 22.5% of Thailand’s fertiliser imports, followed by Saudi Arabia at 14.6%, Malaysia at 8.6%, Russia at 7.7% and Qatar at 7.1%.

Phuket output remains small but is widening

Officials are treating even limited island production as part of a wider resilience plan linking waste reduction with farm supply. Phuket currently produces about eight tonnes of fertiliser a month, or roughly 96 tonnes a year, though officials said the actual total is higher because that figure covers Phuket Town and excludes output from Patong and private operators.

At the Phuket Land Development Station, production is centred on agricultural waste rather than municipal food waste. The station makes about 40 tonnes of compost a year from inedible fruit waste using microbial inoculants.

Liquid fertiliser is also being produced for local distribution. Output is about 6,000 litres a month, including bio-fermented liquid, and each production run supplies around 1,000 bottles to farmers.

Officials said production is being directed to those in need rather than sold commercially, while volumes are gradually being expanded.

Patong and province push composting despite funding gap

Patong Municipality collects about one tonne of organic waste a day, mainly fruit scraps from businesses, and converts it through a natural composting process that takes about one and a half months per cycle. The municipality also produces liquid fertiliser from wastewater sludge for agricultural use.

To speed up processing, Patong plans to procure an organic waste shredder that can turn waste into fertiliser within 24 hours and handle about one tonne per day. Deputy Mayor Arwut Nuchet said the machine costs millions of baht, so the municipality will begin with a trial run aimed at building confidence among hotels and restaurants.

At the provincial level, all local administrative organisations are now required to install composting systems under a zero-waste target, officials said. Phuket Governor’s secretary Aom Kanthima said the goal is to reduce organic waste at the source to zero in every local administrative organisation by the end of this year, with monthly monitoring meetings after the province received no central government funding and each organisation was told to procure its own equipment.

Source: https://www.thephuketnews.com/crap-shoot-phuket-eyes-fertiliser-push-as-global-supply-risks-mount-100064.php