Government bans imports of ammonium nitrate

Agriculture officials have banned the importation of ammonium nitrate for fear that terrorists might use the chemical to make bombs.

Ammonium nitrate, a popular fertilizer for mango trees, is easily available in the market.

Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor said the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) ordered the ban after the Philippine National Police warned that terrorists had been using ammonium nitrate as an ingredient in making explosives.

"We’ve decided to impose an import ban on the chemical for the sake of national security," he said. "We’ve got to prevent innocent lives getting victimized from senseless bombings and one way to incapacitate terrorists is to plug their access to materials in making explosives."

Montemayor, who is also FPA chairman, said the license of Sytengco Co. and Mandarin Chemicals, which had been allowed to import ammonium nitrate, would no longer be renewed when possession of the chemical becomes illegal in May next year.

"While there is an immediate ban on importation, we are implementing a six-month phaseout period to existing supplies which were already distributed to farmers," he said.

The bombs that killed 180 people and destroyed two nightclubs in Bali, Indonesia, and which damaged several buildings in Zamboanga del Norte were partly made of ammonium nitrate, Montemayor added.

Agriculture officials said mango growers can replace ammonium nitrate with potassium nitrate, calcium nitrate and sodium nitrate.

Other substitutes are: ammonium sulfate, urea and other nitrogen fertilizers, officials added. – Rocel Felix