Australian PM thanks President Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia willing to export fertilizer

Australian PM thanks President Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia is willing to export fertilizer. (Photo source: Presidential Secretariat Press, Media, and Information Bureau)

Jakarta - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, via telephone, thanked President Prabowo Subianto for the approval of the export of urea fertilizer from Indonesia to Australia.

This was conveyed by the Minister of Agriculture (former) Andi Amran Sulaiman when releasing the first export of urea fertilizer to Australia at the BSL Pier of PT. East Kalimantan Fertilizer, Bontang, Thursday, May 14.

The export is part of the Government-to-Government (G2G) cooperation between Indonesia and Australia in strengthening the food security of the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Amran, direct communication between the Australian Prime Minister and President Prabowo shows that Indonesia's position is now increasingly taken into account in the global food supply chain, especially the fertilizer sector.

"The Australian Prime Minister called President Prabowo to thank Indonesia for agreeing to export fertilizer to Australia," said Minister of Agriculture Amran.

For your information, the first esports released by the Minister of Agriculture reached 47,250 tons and became the initial stage of a cooperation commitment of 250,000 tons. In the future, the export volume is targeted to increase to 500,000 tons with a value of around Rp7 trillion.

"This is making history, because we will export fertilizer to several countries including Australia. Our plan is to export to Australia according to the talks between the Australian Prime Minister and the President, namely 250,000 tons, but it will be increased to 500,000 tons, the value is approximately Rp. 7 trillion," said Minister of Agriculture Amran.

Even though it exports in large quantities, Minister of Agriculture Amran emphasized that the government still prioritizes the needs of farmers' fertilizer in the country. According to him, exports are carried out because national production is in a surplus condition so that domestic needs remain safe.

Indonesia currently has a strong urea production capacity to meet national needs as well as support the export market.

This year, the national urea production is targeted to reach 7.8 million tons, while domestic demand is around 6.3 million tons, so there is still a surplus of around 1.5 million tons.