Pupuk Kujang asks for gas price subsidy

West Java-based fertilizer maker PT Pupuk Kujang has asked the government for a subsidy so it could cope with the rising price of natural gas, Suara Karya daily reported Saturday.

?As the price of gas and other items have increased, subsidies for fertilizer makers are unavoidable,? Kujang president director Dadang Heru Kodri said on Friday.

Dadang said the government should allow them to raise fertilizer prices if it was not willing to subsidize them.

Kujang?s factory in Cikampek, West Java, turns out fertilizer for farmers in the province.

The company produces 570,000 tons of fertilizer annually. It has commenced constructing another fertilizer factory in Cikampek.

At present gas for the country?s fertilizer producers sells for US$1.3-1.85 per million British thermal unit (MMBTU), and the fertilizer produced is for local farmers. Meanwhile, gas for producing exported fertilizer is sold at $1.85 per MMBTU. (*)