The Agriculture Ministry is preparing to work on intensification of 200,000 hectares of land on Java island with state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and [land expansion] of 50,000 ha of land outside Java with private businesses for sugarcane plantations. The aim is to raise sugar production by around 676,000 tons by 2023 and make Indonesia less reliant on imports.

“It will not be enough with the limited land on Java. So we need to prepare extensification outside Java, especially on the remaining available lands that are quite large,” said Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo during the National Sugar Summit on Tuesday.

Early this year, short supply led to an increase in the average price of sugar, which surpassed Rp 20,000 (US$1.42) per kilogram, higher than the price ceiling of Rp 12,500 per kg set by the government. The logistical disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic on top of short supplies led to the price hikes, which peaked on average in April.

Read also: Government call to ramp up sugar production bearing fruit but price remains high

On Tuesday, the average price of sugar stood at Rp 14,400 per kg, still around 15 percent higher than the price ceiling, according to data from the Center for Information on Strategic Food Prices (PIHPS).

With a shortage of sugar taking place across 30 provinces in April, the government has been issuing policies aimed at securing supplies in the short run, such as relaxing imports.

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