Indonesia Agricultural Fertilizer

Indonesia, a nation known for its vast rice paddies, faces a growing challenge: a lack of domestically produced fertilizer. The country’s reliance on imports, particularly from Ukraine, has been worsened by the ongoing war, leading to price hikes and supply disruptions. While the government supports low-income farmers with subsidized chemical fertilizers, a shift towards organic and sustainable practices is gaining traction.

Organic Movement

Over the past few decades, there’s been a growing awareness among farmers about the benefits of organic fertilizers, biostimulants, and soil amendments. This trend coincides with the rising demand for organic produce by consumers. As a result, we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of associations and organizations dedicated to promoting and supporting both organic farming practices and organic fertilizer production.
Indonesia’s biostimulant market is on a steady rise, driven by the growing popularity of sustainable agriculture. Ambitious chemical fertilizer reduction targets set by companies are expected to further accelerate this growth. Interestingly, state-owned enterprises currently dominate the biostimulant production landscape in Indonesia. To unlock the full potential of this market, raising awareness among farmers about the advantages of organic and biostimulant solutions is crucial. This remains a key area for government focus.

Opportunities

Conventional chemistry & chemical crop protection has undergone increased scrutiny that leads to opportunities for the complementary usage of both biological and conventional products. The biostimulant market offers opportunities for growth due to rising awareness of sustainable practices and limited regulations. The lack of restrictive or discriminatory regulations opens doors for diverse imported biostimulants that complement existing practices. This creates opportunities for domestic production and import of organic alternatives.

Other countries have adopted new regulatory processes and definitions for bio stimulants that have increased the overall complexity of bringing new biostimulants to the market. However, Indonesia has not yet implemented the same approach.

For more information or to learn about potential agricultural technologies in Indonesia, please contact:

Trianie Ananda
Commercial Specialist for Agribusiness
Trianie.Ananda@trade.gov