JAKARTA – PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) ensures that the highest retail price (HET) for subsidized fertilizer must be enforced at all complete fertilizer kiosk partners (KPL) in the North Sumatra (Sumut) province. The obligation of HET is stipulated in the Ministry of Agriculture Regulation (Permentan) Number 10 of 2022 concerning the Procedures for Determining Allocation and Highest Retail Prices for Subsidized Fertilizers in the Agricultural Sector.

Fickry Martawisuda, Senior Vice President of PSO for the Western Region at Pupuk Indonesia, stated that the company requires all kiosks to display stickers with information about HET so that registered farmers can use this information when redeeming subsidized fertilizer at the kiosks.

"HET for subsidized fertilizer is a price requirement that must be adhered to by official kiosks in the Pupuk Indonesia network. HET is set by the government for farmers who redeem cash purchases in certain packaging directly at the kiosks, not delivered to the farmers' locations," expressed Fickry in his statement on Friday (8/12/2023).

This simultaneously addresses the complaint from Mulyono, the Chairman of the Joint Farmer Group (Gapoktan) in the Beringin District, Deliserdang Regency, North Sumatra. He stated that the subsidized fertilizer prices in North Sumatra have reached IDR 150 per sack or 50 kg.

According to the marketing team's investigation from Pupuk Indonesia, no subsidized fertilizer redemption above HET was found. Mulyono, as the chairman of Gapoktan, is not registered as an eligible farmer or subsidy recipient for fertilizer in 2023. "All kiosks in North Sumatra have implemented the i-Pubers application for subsidized fertilizer redemption. After checking the concerned person's name, it is not listed in the 2023 e-Allocation, so the kiosk did not provide redemption services," he said.

Currently, Pupuk Indonesia's marketing team is coordinating with distributors and PPL in the Beringin District to assist farmers, including Mulyono, in inputting data into e-Allocation to obtain subsidized fertilizer allocations for the 2024 fiscal year.

Fickry ensures that Pupuk Indonesia is ready to take strict action against kiosk partners and distributors proven to sell subsidized fertilizer above HET. Subsidized fertilizer can only be distributed to farmers who meet the criteria set in Permentan Number 10 of 2022. The criteria are as follows: farmers must be members of farmer groups, registered in the Agriculture Extension Management Information System (SIMLUHTAN), and cultivate a maximum of two hectares of land.

Based on these regulations, the government also only designates two types of subsidized fertilizer, namely Urea and NPK, and only 9 commodities are eligible for subsidized fertilizer allocation: rice, corn, soybeans, shallots, garlic, chili, coffee, cocoa, and sugarcane.

Fickry urges farmers to actively use Pupuk Indonesia's customer service if they encounter activities outside the regulations regarding subsidized fertilizer. Pupuk Indonesia's customer service can be accessed toll-free at 0800 100 8001 or via WhatsApp at 0811 9918 001. This customer service operates on weekdays during working hours.