"The current stocks are also quite safe..."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - State fertilizer company PT Pupuk Indonesia distributed 4.35 million tons of subsidized fertilizers to the food crops sector in the first semester of 2017, accounting for 46 percent of the targeted 9.55 million tons.

The fertilizers comprised 1.9 million tons of urea-based fertilizers, 1.25 tons of NPK, 432 thousand tons of SP36, 472 thousand tons of ZA, and 296 thousand tons of organic fertilizer, Pupuk Indonesia Corporate Communication Chief Wijaya Laksana said here on Friday.

The distribution of subsidized fertilizers to the food crops sector is relatively good this year, he stated.

"The current stocks are also quite safe. On a national scale, total stocks in lines III & IV or warehouses and kiosks stood at 856,114 tons as of July 6. The amount is enough to meet the needs for six weeks ahead. The amount excludes stocks in the warehouses of fertilizer plants and provincial governments," he noted.

The national stocks in lines III & IV consist of 446,771 tons of urea-based fertilizers; 208,896 tons of NPK; 40,202 tons of SP36; and ZA and organic fertilizers.

Wijaya remarked that although national fertilizer stocks are safe, farmers fertilizer consumption in several areas outstripped the amount of fertilizers allocated to the areas.

To prevent fertilizer scarcity, Pupuk Indonesia has made extra efforts by deliver extra stocks from cities functioning as distribution centers to the areas, he explained.

Among the provinces which saw high non-urea-based fertilizer consumption are Aceh and North Sumatra. In Aceh alone, the distribution of SP-36 fertilizers reached 12,836 tons as of late June 2017, accounting for 103 percent of the planned allocations, or 60 percent of fertilizers allotted for 2017, he revealed.

Reporter: Royke Sinaga
Editor: Risbiani Fardaniah
Copyright © ANTARA 2017