Govt to clamp down on poor fertilizer
Govt to clamp down on poor fertilizer
JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to clamp down on producers
and distributors of substandard fertilizers which have found
their way to the market during the recent supply shortage of the
product, a senior official of the Ministry of Agriculture said on
Thursday.
Secretary-General Syarifuddin Karama said the ministry had
drafted a new regulation designed to stop such actions.
"We have sent the latest draft to the State Secretariat,"
Syarifuddin was quoted by Antara as saying in Malang, East Java.
The regulation would establish penalties for producers and
distributors of substandard fertilizers, he said without giving
details.
The government would also appoint several laboratories to
conduct tests on fertilizers, he added. He listed Brawijaya
University, in Malang; the Bogor Institute of Agriculture; Jember
University and Hasanuddin University among the possible
laboratories which would be employed for the task.
The supply shortage has led to a surge in the sale of
substandard fertilizers to rice farmers across the country.
The East Kalimantan provincial administration found at least
eight tons of substandard SP-36 fertilizer, normally used for
rice and other food crops, being sold in local markets last
month.
Further worsening the shortage of fertilizer supplies is the
sale of subsidized fertilizers intended for rice farmers to
plantation firms. Government officials said that distributors
preferred to sell the fertilizer to the highest bidder.
Even after the government's decision to phase out subsidies on
fertilizers and to lift import restrictions on the product,
supplies remained low while prices soared.
High fertilizer prices led to a riot in Central Java, where a
number of people were injured and dozens of shops and vehicles
were damaged.
Syarifuddin said the government planned to import fertilizers,
including 130,000 tons of potassium chloride, between 100,000 and
150,000 tons of TSP and between 60,000 and 80,000 tons of ZA.
The first shipments would arrive this month, he added. (gis)