PT Pupuk Indonesia to invest $6.4bn in fertilizer plants

Indonesia’s state-owned PT Pupuk Indonesia has said it will spend $6.4bn on increasing its fertilizer production capabilities over the next five years, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

As part of its push to bring down food costs, the company will invest $1.2bn in a new ammonia and urea fertilizer plant in Fakfak, Papua province, and spend $640mn on upgrades at its Palembang complex, Bloomberg quoted its President, Rahmad Pribadi, as saying.

Work on the Fakfak plant will start next year, with production to begin in early 2028, Pribadi reportedly stated.

The Indonesian government’s statistics bureau recently said that in February volatile food inflation was running at 8.47%, which is the highest it has been since September 2022.

It also stated that last month the retail price of rice increased by 19.28% compared to February 2023, hitting a record high due to the fact that rice output for the January to April harvest period is expected to fall by 17.52%.

The Indonesian government on Wednesday also pledged to ensure the availability of natural gas for fertilizer production, a move it said will maintain fertilizer price stability and increase national food production.