Pupuk Indonesia Salurkan 1.42 Million Tons Of Subsidized Fertilizer Until March 2023

JAKARTA - PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) distributed 1.42 million tons of subsidized fertilizer from January to March 8, 2023, which was equivalent to 79.6 percent of the allocation until March 2023, which was 2.23 million tons.

"In detail, Urea fertilizer has been distributed in the amount of 840 thousand tons, while NPK fertilizer has been distributed in the amount of 586 thousand tons," said Pupuk Indonesia Marketing Director Gusrizal, in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Friday, March 10.

Gusrizal explained that the total allocation of subsidized fertilizers set by the government in 2023 was 7.85 million tons, with details of Urea fertilizers 4.64 million tons and NPK 3.21 million tons.

Meanwhile, Pupuk Indonesia's planned production in 2023 is 12.3 million tons, both subsidized fertilizer and non-subsidized fertilizer.

Gusrizal said that the distribution of subsidized fertilizers was carried out in accordance with the allocation set by the government. In this case, subsidized fertilizers consist of two types, namely Urea and NPK fertilizers.

Subsidized fertilizers are only distributed to farmers who are entitled to the criteria of the Minister of Agriculture Regulation (Permentan) Number 10 of 2022, for farmers who do not meet the criteria, they cannot obtain subsidized fertilizers.

The requirements for obtaining subsidized fertilizers are that they must be joined by farmer groups, registered in the Agricultural Extension Management Information System (SIMLUHTAN), and work on a maximum land of two hectares.

In addition, subsidized fertilizers are currently focused on nine types of strategic commodities, namely rice, corn, soybeans, chilies, shallots, garlic, coffee, sugar cane, and cocoa, from what was previously intended for around 72 commodities.

Meanwhile, the stock of subsidized fertilizers nationally on March 9, 2023 was recorded at 912 thousand tons. This amount is almost double as much as the minimum stock provision of 340 thousand tons.

Pupuk Indonesia, continued Gusrizal, also has customer service that can be accessed by all farmers with credit-free contact at 0800 100 8001 or WA 0811 9918 001.

Through customer service, Pupuk Indonesia will accommodate complaints related to subsidized fertilizers from both availability, price, and quality.

It is known, President Joko Widodo said that he often received complaints from farmers in villages about subsidized fertilizers. Jokowi also mentioned that currently all countries in the world are having difficulty getting raw materials for fertilizers due to the Russia-Ukraine war. This disturbed supply makes fertilizer prices rise.

Responding to these complaints, the government plans to increase the production capacity of domestic fertilizers. In February 2023, Jokowi has just inaugurated the NPK fertilizer factory owned by PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda (PIM) of 500 thousand tons.

On the same occasion, PIM also operates the PIM 1 factory with a capacity of 570 thousand tonnes of urea, as well as complements the PIM 2 factory which is also a capacity of 570 thousand tonnes of urea.

In addition, the government also plans to establish a fertilizer industrial area in Fakfak Regency, West Papua Province. The project has been designated as one of the National Strategic Projects (PSN).