Bontang, E Kalimantan, (ANTARA News) - State-owned fertilizer holding company PT Pupuk Indonesia has projected its exports to reach Rp9.9 trillion, or US$655 million, at the end of this year.

The figure will be obtained from the exports of 1.588 million tons of fertilizers and 630 thousand tons of ammonia, PT Pupuk Indonesia President Director Aas Asikin Idat noted at a press conference here on Saturday.

By September 2018, the exports of fertilizers reached 770 thousand tons and the exports of ammonia stood at 439 thousand tons, valued at $332 million, up 60 percent as compared to the same period last year, he noted.

However, he added that the company will prioritize its products to meet domestic needs from the food crop sector under a public service obligation scheme.

"Export permit will be issued only if domestic needs and stocks are safe," he noted.

He said the sale of non-subsidized fertilizers and ammonia to the plantation sector in the first nine months of this year also increased 200 thousand tons to 1.552 million tons as compared to the same period a year earlier.

Meanwhile, PT Pupuk Indonesia Marketing Director Achmad Tossin Sutawikara said one of the ways to achieve the export target for 2018 is to look at the foreign market, particularly the company`s trade partner.

"The overseas market is fragile. It is difficult to predict it following the US embargo on Iranian products that causes the equilibrium to change. That is why we must think of when we will export and how much we will sell our products," he added.


Reporting by Juwita Trisna Rahayu
Editing by Suharto

Reporter: Antara
Editor: Suharto
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