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)