TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said that the government planned to open a new fertilizer factory in West Papua to overcome the shortage of urea fertilizer and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) fertilizer caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.

"[The shortage occurs] because the supply of raw materials is from Russia and Ukraine, which are in an ongoing war. So the world is now having difficulties with fertilizer. When the supply is lacking, then what will happen is the price will definitely go up," said the President in Bandung Regency, West Java on Monday, March 6, 2023.

Jokowi explained that the government has just inaugurated the Iskandar Muda fertilizer factory in Aceh which is capable of producing up to 500,000 tons of fertilizer per year.

However, the factory is not sufficient to meet domestic demand, so the government still has to rely on imports.

"So [more factories] are needed. Maybe this year, we will open the fertilizer industry in West Papua given that the gas is available there, and the raw materials are also available there," Jokowi said.

The fertilizer factory in West Papua, Jokowi added, is also not enough to completely solve the shortage issue. Jokowi claimed that the government still needs to import other raw materials from abroad.

"When I visit villages and meet farmers, the most complained about is always fertilizer. And it's true that it's not an easy item to get for now," said Jokowi.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH

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