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sugar industry group has stated that Indonesia will not need to import white sugar this year as stable local production and high sugar stocks this year will be enough to meet domestic demand.

National white sugar output is estimated to reach 2.5 million to 2.6 million tons in 2014, a slight change from the 2.55 million tons last year, according to the Indonesian Sugar Association (AGI).

White sugar stocks stood at around 1.2 million tons as of December, up 31.3 percent from the 914,000 tons the previous year, which is a record high in the past decade, the group says.

AGI executive director Tito Pranolo said Tuesday that combined output and stocks would exceed white sugar consumption throughout this year, which would reach approximately 2.75 million tons.

'€œThere will be more than enough white sugar to meet domestic demand. By the end of 2014, we may have stocks of roughly 1 million tons,'€ Tito said in a press briefing on the sugar market outlook in 2014.

Indonesia, the world'€™s fourth most-populous nation, consumes more sugar than its Asian peers. Annual local consumption amounted to 22.9 kilograms per person in 2012, compared to an average of 17.5 kilogram per capita in neighboring countries, according to the International Sugar Organization.

On Monday, state-owned logistics firm Bulog said that it was mulling over importing sugar this year to build up its stockpiles of around 350,000 tons aimed at domestic price stabilization.

However, Bulog is still calculating the exact figure for imports, which depends on how much it can secure from local sugar mills. The firm has yet to decide what type of sugar to import.

In Indonesia, cane sugar is divided into two types: white sugar, which is normally produced domestically and goes to households and small-scale firms, and raw sugar, which is purchased overseas by refineries to fulfil the needs of large-scale industries, including food and beverage producers.

The country imported 3.02 million tons of raw sugar last year, 2.85 million tons of which had been delivered as of Nov. 30.

Tito of AGI further said that white sugar imports may cause local prices to plunge further, thereby discouraging sugarcane farmers from growing it.

Apart from halting imports, the government should set farmer'€™s buying price (HPP) at 10 percent above the base production price at the minimum to enable them to make a profit, Tito said.

One of the biggest challenges for farmers to maintain a profit is the regular increase in land rent, which pushes up production costs each year.

Last year, the government determined that farmer'€™s purchasing price reached Rp 8,100 per kilogram, similar to a year earlier, pushing the price of sugar at auction down to below Rp 9,000 per kilogram.

'€œWithout a fair price, farmers will feel insecure and choose to plant other crops,'€ Tito warned.

At present, out of the 400,000 hectares of sugarcane fields in the country, around 250,000 hectares are controlled by farmers.