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View all search resultsEthanol import easing leaves bitter taste for sugarcane farmers
Experts warned that the regulation could further hurt the domestic ethanol downstream sector, even as Indonesia plans to launch a mandatory ethanol-based biofuel program.
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A worker loads sugarcane onto a truck during this year’s harvest season in Purwosekar village in Malang, East Java. JP/ Aman Rochman (JP/Aman Rochman)
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ugarcane farmers are sounding the alarm over the government’s decision to relax ethanol import rules, warning the move could sideline them as unsold molasses, a key raw material for local ethanol production, continues to pile up.
Under Trade Ministry Regulation No. 16/2025, issued on June 30 and effective as of Aug. 29, the government eased import restrictions on several goods, including ethanol, as part of its broader deregulation efforts. The regulation allows ethanol imports without requiring technical approval from other relevant institutions.
Indonesian Sugarcane Farmers Association (APTRI) chairman Soemitro Samadikun said sugarcane farmers and sugar mills have been hit hard by the regulation, and anxiety is mounting over the risk that ethanol imports could drive down prices and demand for local molasses.
“Even before the regulation took effect, [farmers] already felt the impact. In previous years, buyers were typically active in making down payments to secure molasses in advance. This year, however, that activity has stalled,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Soemitro added that unabsorbed molasses posed significant risks, harming both the environment and sugar factories. Unlike sugar, which can be stored and preserved for years, molasses requires special storage tanks, strict safety measures and cannot be kept for too long.
“Once [molasses] passes a certain storage limit, its physical form, properties and chemical composition change. We cannot take it lightly when molasses sales stall,” he said.
He also claimed that domestic molasses production for ethanol was “more than sufficient,” making additional ethanol imports unnecessary.
