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ndonesia'€™s sugar production may fall short of the government'€™s target this year, despite an increase in domestic production of sugarcane.

The government'€™s preliminary data shows that the country'€™s sugar production is estimated to reach only 2.5 million tons this year, about 10.7 percent below the target it set earlier this year.

The Agriculture Ministry earlier estimated that sugar production would increase to 28 million tons this year, up from 2.6 million tons in 2012, due to an expected increase in sugarcane production.

Agriculture Minister Suswono said in Jakarta Friday that sugarcane production had actually increased but that a lower than expected recovery rate '€” the amount of sugar gleaned from the cane '€” had meant a decline in sugar production.

The data projects that this year'€™s sugarcane production would rise by 10.94 percent to 35.38 million tons, up from 31.89 million tons last year. '€œThe recovery rate has declined because of a prolonged rainy season that led to lower levels of sugar in the sugarcane,'€ Suswono said.

The ministry had projected the recovery rate would reach 7.75 percent this year, but the preliminary data shows that the sugarcane being harvested has had an average recovery rate of only 7.5 percent. That figure falls below last year'€™s average of 8.13 percent.

Indonesia may import 5.4 million tons of raw sugar this year, more than double the 2.5 million tons imported last year, to offset the low domestic production.

Agriculture Ministry director general for plantations Gamal Nasir said that abnormal weather was not the only reason behind the declining sugar output.

Gamal said that ratoon sugarcane crops '€” which mature quicker but are thinner and have lower sugar content '€” planted on a total of 450,000 hectares of sugarcane field across the country were old and unproductive, having been cultivated for more than three years.

'€œWe need to replant the ratoon crops, and to do that we need the private sector to help us as we have a limited budget,'€ Gamal said.

Ratooning is a crop harvesting method that leaves the roots and the lower parts of the plant uncut. Ratooning is a cheaper and quicker process, but after giving a steady yield for an average three years results in reduced sugar content and decreased resistance toward pests.

Sugarcane Farmers Association (APTRI) chairman Arum Sabil said that replanting the field with a better strain of seed was the answer to help increase sugar content, adding that 80 quintals of new seeds were needed to replant a hectare of sugarcane field.

He, however, questioned the government'€™s commitment to carry out a replanting program, citing that too many problems lingered in the procurement of the seeds.

The government has sought to replant 50,000 hectares of sugarcane field this year and has appointed the Indonesian Sugarcane Plantation Research Center (P3GI) to provide the seeds.

P3GI director Aris Toharisman said that the research center had produced 150 million ex-tissue culture seeds, which were pest-resistance and were able to generate more harvests and more sugar content. The seed can produce up to 120 tons of sugarcane per hectare, compared to conventional seeds that produce only around 80 tons per hectare. However, Aris said that only 5 percent of the produced seeds were absorbed in the market due to a '€œdifficult tendering process'€.