Government to import TSP fertilizer

Government to import TSP fertilizer

JAKARTA (JP): The government announced yesterday it has
decided to import 200,000 tons of triple-superphosphate (TSP)
fertilizer this year to anticipate the shortage which may occur
due to an early planting season this year.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo, Minister of
Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah and Minister of Cooperatives and
Small Enterprises Subiakto Tjakrawerdaya after a joint meeting
yesterday said that in the first three months, Indonesia would
import 75,000 tons of TSP, of which 30,000 tons would arrive in
January, 20,000 tons in February and the remaining 25,000 tons in
March.

Sjarifudin said Indonesian farmers were actually in need of
superphosphate-36 (SP-36) fertilizer, but since such a type was
unavailable on the international market, Indonesia would have to
import TSP which could substitute SP-36.

He said the imported TSP would be used by tree-crop
plantations.

The demand from the agricultural, or food farming sector, he
said, could be met by the 650,000 tons of SP-36 annually produced
by PT Petrokimia Gresik in East Java.

Shortages of fertilizers have been reported by the media over
the last couple of months as occurring country-wide.

Several analysts say the lack of granular urea may be caused
by distribution problems, while others say it is due to efforts
to intensify the use of new, tablet-type urea, which farmers
actually find harder to apply.

Others suspect that better prices on the international market
have caused producers to shift to exporting the commodity.

Major fertilizer producers, including PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja and
PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur, recently reported that they saw an
increase in production last year.

Early season

Sjarifudin said the lack of fertilizers was caused by an early
planting season this year (1995-1996), which the current
fertilizer supply was unable to accommodate.

Last year, the dry planting season occurred in April and the
wet planting season in December.

"The rising demand for fertilizers can be seen from the
extensive planting areas across the country which, as of Dec. 15,
1995, had already reached 66 percent of the total area plotted
for planting in 1995-1996," Sjarifudin said.

He said that favorable prices of unhusked rice during last
year's harvesting season -- ranging between Rp 500 (21 U.S.
cents) to Rp 600 per kilogram -- also increased the enthusiasm of
farmers to plant and, in turn, raised demand for fertilizer.

Tunky said there was a sufficient amount of other types of
fertilizers on the market.

Last year, 3.69 million tons of urea fertilizer was
distributed across the country, exceeding the targeted amount for
distribution by eight percent.

Meanwhile, the distribution of ZA fertilizer reached 651,897
tons, or 93 percent of the target, while TSP and SP-36 reached
1.6 million tons, or 82 percent of the distribution target.

Subiakto said village cooperatives who disturbed fertilizer
distribution at the farm gate would have their distribution
licenses revoked.

"In fact, the distribution licenses of several errant
cooperatives have been canceled," he said.

He confirmed that a number of speculators had colluded with
cooperative executives in hoarding fertilizer in hope of
eventually selling the agro-chemical far above its retail ceiling
price.

Sjarifudin suggested that imported fertilizer be distributed
directly to the farmers to prevent speculation by cooperatives or
profiteers. (vin/pwn)