JAKARTA. Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita said that government will allow refined sugar producers to sell their products to consumption market in order to stabilize sugar price. Enggartiasto added that the government will set the price of refined sugar at a price of IDR 12.500 per a kilogram.

As an information, to date officially  refined sugar producers are  only allowed to sell their products to food and beverage industries, not to consumption market. The producers can only sell the refined sugars to small and medium enterprises (UKMs) through special distributor.

However, in fact, refined sugars are found in consumption market. “Now we open (the consumption market for refined sugar). But we need the roadmap for the sales,” Enggartiasto said.

Refined sugar producers are enthusiastic with the government’s plan. General Chairman of Refined Sugar Association (AGRI) Benny Wachyudi said that domestic refined sugar producers have sufficient capacities to distribute the sugar to the market. Benny added that the producers are ready to penetrate the market after government formalizing the policy under a certain regulation.

Benny revealed that the producers do not object to sell the refined sugar at a retail price of IDR12.500 per kilogram. However, producers request for cross subsidy to press transportation cost to distribute the sugar to eastern part of Indonesia’s market.

However, cane farmers firmly oppose the government’s plan, on the grounds that to date government has allowed a great number of imported sugars to be sold in consumption market.

General Chairman of Leading Cane Farmers of the Republic of Indonesia (APTRI) Soemitro Samadikoen said that during 2016, Indonesia imported at least 1 million tin of sugar for consumption market. Soemitro said that the amount is very high. “Even, during poor harvest, the maximum number of import should not exceed 400,000 ton,” he said. (Translator: Muhammad Farid)

Editor: Sanny Cicilia