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View all search resultsPTPN urges lower sugar imports to boost local productivity
The state-owned plantation company has urged the government to reduce sugar imports as part of a measure to help Indonesian farmers nearly double their productivity from 4 to 8 tonnes per hectare (ha) to compete with foreign producers, lower sugar prices and contribute to its bioethanol production program.
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State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir (left) and PTPN III president director Muhammad Abdul Ghani tour the storehouse of state-owned sugar company Industri Gula Glenmore (IGG), a subsidiary of state-owned plantation company PTPN XII, during a work visit on Sept. 18, 2021 to IGG in Banyuwangi, East Java. (State-owned enterprises (SOEs) Ministry/Public relation teams)
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tate-owned plantation company PTPN has called on the government to refrain from importing too much sugar so as to boost domestic output, as the country’s farmers were unable to compete with foreign producers.
PTPN president director Mohammad Abdul Ghani said farmers needed to increase productivity to 8 tonnes per hectare (ha) to compete with foreign production, nearly double their current output of around 4 tonnes per ha.
“Before farmers can reach that productivity [level], please protect us. If we allow excessive sugar imports, our farmers will perish, and they will not be able to improve their agronomy,” Ghani told lawmakers on Tuesday at a meeting with House Commission VI overseeing trade, state-owned enterprises and investment, as quoted by Kontan.co.id.
Achieving that productivity target would allow farmers to lower their production cost to Rp 6,300 (38 US cents) per kilogram from Rp 9,700 per kg at present, he added.
This would translate to a farmgate price of Rp 12,000 per kg from around Rp 14,500 per kg at the current production level, which Ghani deemed had led to high consumer prices.
In comparison, imported sugar is around Rp 10,000 per kg.
Indonesia relies on imported sugar to help fulfill domestic demand, since local output accounts for less than half, but aims to achieve sugar self-sufficiency by 2028.
