"I want the capacity here to be 570 thousand tons, multiplied by two, means 1.14 million tons, that is really the maximum that can come out later, so that we can resolve complaints from farmers," President Jokowi stated at the inauguration of the NPK factory of PT PIM in North Aceh, Aceh, Friday.
The president drew attention to ongoing problems in the global fertilizer supply chain due to the impact of the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Ukraine is a major producer of fertilizers in the world, but on account of the war, the supply of one of the supporting materials for agriculture in the country has been hampered.
In Indonesia, the national fertilizer requirement reaches 13.5 million tons, but only 3.5 million tons had been fulfilled.
"And that is what I have felt lately, every time I go to the village, every time I go into the fields to meet the farmers, what they always say is 'no fertilizer sir, sir, the fertilizer price is high'. If the supply goes down, it means the price will go up automatically," he explained.
Jokowi observed that two fertilizer factories in Aceh --PT Aceh ASEAN Fertilizer (AAF) and PT PIM-- had stopped operating. The operational constraints for the two companies are due to gas supply delays.
"What is the problem? This has been since 2005. The problem is gas. If we do not have enough gas from within the country, can't we import it, so that the factory runs. I do not know, for decades we have just kept silent on assets of this size," Jokowi stated.
Jokowi then instructed Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir to resume the operations of the two fertilizer factories in Aceh.
For the re-operation of PT PIM, the investment costs reach Rp1.7 trillion (around US$111.98 million) for the construction of the NPK industry as well as port facilities for logistics.
"This has just been implemented with PIM, and there are still many problems that must be seen and calculated for AAF. It is okay if one factory operates for the time being. PIM 1 and PIM 2 are implemented, and gas needs are sought. This is a basic need that we want, so why should it be left alone," President Jokowi said.
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Translator: Indra Arief, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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