Fertilizer imports necessary?

Fertilizer imports necessary?

A surprise was delivered by the government yesterday to start
off the new year. Three cabinet ministers -- those of trade,
cooperatives and trade -- issued a joint statement saying that
the government was about to import 200,000 tons of fertilizer in
order to surmount the critical shortage of this strategic
commodity which is now hitting farmers in several regions of this
country.

The government's decision came after severe shortages were
reported in several areas. In Trenggalek, East Java, desperate
farmers burned down the local Village Cooperative Unit (KUD)
office, an act which local security officials considered as
having been politically inspired and instigated by others.

The point is that the solution offered by the government to
import 200,000 tons of fertilizer is rather surprising because
according to reports submitted by two domestic fertilizer plants,
PT Pusri and PT Pupuk Kaltim, the domestic supply of the
commodity at present exceeds the demand by two million tons.

To import a commodity in the presence of an overabundant
supply signals that something is amiss, according to a number of
members of the House of Representatives. According to our
observation the present fertilizer shortage is a result of flaws
in its distribution rather than in the available supply. The
logical step to take, therefore, would be to correct the
distribution system.

The problem -- as is the case with other commodities whose
trade is regulated, such as cement -- is that both the
distribution and production of fertilizer lacks transparency.
Fertilizer has since long been among the commodities which are
exploited by traders to reap big profits. The unfortunate thing
is that Village Cooperative Units, which should function as price
stabilizers, are often tempted to join in the price manipulation
game.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta