T

he state-owned logistics agency Bulog has realized the import of 27,000 tons of sugar from Thailand, only 8.2 percent of the total 328,000 tons permitted by the Trade Ministry'€™s import license (SPI) to the agency.

The ministry'€™s foreign trade director general Bachrul Chairi said on Friday that with the realization, the agency only secured 15 percent of the total sugar buffer stock of 350,000 tons in 2014.

'€œBulog currently only has around 50,000 ton a stockpile. Around 22,000 tons were bought from domestic producers and 27,000 tons were imported from Thailand,'€ he said, adding that the stock was only enough to meet national demand for two months.

The ministry is still considering extending the SPI expiration date until July to assist Bulog in realizing the rest of the import quota.

'€œCurrently the SPI expiration date has not been extended, but [the ministry] will consider it,'€ he said, adding that the ministry was still trying to solve the sugar buffer stocks problem so it could meet national demand.

The ministry recently issued the SPI for Bulog to import 328,000 tons for its stockpile from April 1 through May 15.

Bulog has been appointed as a price stabilizer for key food commodities, including sugar. Based on its calculation, there will be a deficit of 340,000 tons of white sugar for household consumption this year.

Bachrul also denied that there was an oversupply in the country'€™s sugar market, saying that the issue was made up by sugar traders in the hope that the price could increase to the same level as the previous year.

'€œThey bought the sugar last year at a price of Rp 12,000 [US$1.05] per kilogram, with the hope that the price could reach Rp 16,000 per kg. But, unfortunately, the sugar price is currently Rp 11,000 per kg, so they are holding their sugar stocks because they want to maintain the same profit,'€ he said.

The sugar price, according to the ministry'€™s website, is now at Rp 11,200 per kg, an 8.3 percent decrease from last year'€™s price, which was Rp 12,000 per kg.

The Indonesian Sugar Association (AGI) Senior Advisor said recently that the sugar demand was lower than previous years, causing an oversupply in the market.

Bachrul also acknowledged then that some stocks of refined sugar, which was meant to be consumed only buy industrial users were sold for household consumption.

'€œLast year there was a leakage of refined sugar in the market, but the ministry has penalized the firms that sold it,'€ he said, adding that the ministry has reduced the refined sugar quota by 191,000 tons from the original quota as the penalty for the industrial users.

'€œAs a result, the total allocation for refined sugar is only 2.9 million tons,'€ he said, adding that the number could become much smaller as the ministry was now strict in auditing the import contracts and importers recommendation. The allocation quota for refined sugar this year, therefore, is smaller than last year, which amounted to 3.05 million tons. (ask)