..these targets will only materialize if factories are truly\nconstructed, the molasses supply chain remains resilient, and crop\nprices stay fair for the farmers..Jakarta (ANTARA) - Landing at\nAbdulrachman Saleh Airport in Malang, passengers are greeted by\nsprawling green fields that look like wild grass from above but are\nactually vast stretches of sugarcane.<\/p>\n
As it turns out, those sugarcane plantations are more than just a\nscenic backdrop surrounding the air base. The sugarcane is actively\ncultivated for production and is destined for more than just sweetening\ncoffee or tea.<\/p>\n
Beyond meeting the nation\u2019s sugar needs, it is helping power\nIndonesia\u2019s transition to bioethanol.<\/p>\n
During a visit to the sugarcane plantation near the air base on\nFriday, July 17, President Prabowo Subianto sounded the siren to mark\nthe start of a nationwide harvest at 43 locations. The initiative kicked\noff harvesting for three key commodities, including sugarcane, rice, and\nsoybeans.<\/p>\n
Of the three commodities, sugarcane accounts for the largest share.\nLand managed under the Indonesian Air Force\u2019s food security program\nspans 236,048 hectares, with the potential to produce 18.386 million\ntons of sugarcane, equivalent to 1.36 million tons of sugar, or 45.05\npercent of this year\u2019s national sugar production target.<\/p>\n
At Abdulrachman Saleh Air Force Base alone, 800.5 hectares are ready\nfor harvest, with an estimated yield of 72,045 tons of sugarcane.<\/p>\n
Viewed through the lens of Indonesia\u2019s history, the expansion to\n236,048 hectares reveals a striking irony.<\/p>\n
In the 1930s, the Dutch East Indies produced up to 3 million tons of\nsugar annually on roughly 196 thousand to 200 thousand hectares in Java,\nyielding an impressive 14.7 tons of sugar per hectare from far less\nland.<\/p>\n
Sugar exports reached 2.4 million tons, making the Dutch East Indies\nthe world\u2019s second-largest sugar exporter after Cuba.<\/p>\n
In other words, the land now managed by the Indonesian Air Force\nunder its food security program already exceeds the total sugarcane\nplantation area in Java during the colonial government\u2019s most productive\nperiod, although projected sugar output has yet to match that historical\nrecord.<\/p>\n
The difference between then and now is not only about sugar yield\nrates and milling technology but also about the direction of the\ncommodity itself. During the colonial era, sugar flowed overseas,\nfilling the coffers of the Dutch East Indies government and supplying\nEuropean markets, while local sugarcane farmers remained at the end of\nthe value chain with the smallest share of the benefits.<\/p>\n
Following independence, the national sugar industry fell into a long\ndecline, accelerated by the impact of World War II.<\/p>\n
Consequently, Indonesia transformed from one of the world\u2019s premier\nsugar exporters into one of its largest importers for decades.<\/p>\n
For this reason, the simultaneous harvest in Malang represents a\ncrucial step toward reversing that historical trajectory, redirecting\nsugar production to secure domestic needs first.<\/p>\n
Related news: Indonesia targets E10 bioethanol fuel rollout by\n2027<\/p>\n
Bioethanol<\/p>\n
What sets today\u2019s effort apart from history is the fate of the\nsugarcane itself. Abdulrachman Saleh Air Force Base is evolving into an\nintegrated hub, managing the crop from field to final product. Rather\nthan focusing solely on commercial sugar, the facility converts\nprocessing byproducts like molasses into bioethanol, organic\nfertilizers, and an array of high-value industrial materials.<\/p>\n
During the harvest event, officials from Pertamina New and Renewable\nEnergy presented to the President a comparison of bioethanol\nimplementation in India, where the blending rate has reached 20 percent\n(E20), and Brazil, which has implemented a mandatory E30 blend, with\nE100 already in use in several states.<\/p>\n
In response, the President directed officials to establish 50 new\nbioethanol plants, stressing that Indonesia must rapidly close the gap\nwith these global leaders.<\/p>\n
The government, through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources,\nhas gradually begun implementing a five-percent bioethanol blend (E5)\nsince July 2026 in six provinces, namely East Java, Jakarta, West Java,\nBanten, Central Java, and Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Although the current roadmap targets E10 implementation between 2028\nand 2030, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia is\npreparing to jump directly to mandatory E20 implementation to begin in\n2028.<\/p>\n
The bioethanol market index price as of July 2026 has been set at\nRp10,933 per liter, calculated using a formula that directly links the\nprice of farmers\u2019 molasses to the value of the biofuel.<\/p>\n
Bioethanol demand to achieve E20 is estimated at eight million\nkiloliters, a figure that appears large but is relatively small compared\nwith annual gasoline imports, which stand at around 20 million\nkiloliters annually.<\/p>\n
Molasses, once a by-product of sugar processing, has now become a raw\nmaterial for substituting imported fuel, and every hectare of harvested\nsugarcane carries dual value, serving as a source of both table sugar\nand domestic energy.<\/p>\n
The upstream-to-downstream model also changes the economic incentives\nfor sugarcane farmers because demand, which once depended entirely on\nsugar prices, is now also supported by molasses prices linked to\nnational energy needs.<\/p>\n
Building 50 new processing plants, expanding the E5 rollout across\nsix provinces, and reaching E20 by 2028 is a bold national ambition. Yet\nthese targets will only materialize if factories are truly constructed,\nthe molasses supply chain remains resilient, and crop prices stay fair\nfor the farmers tending the fields.<\/p>\n
Related news: B50, E5 drive Indonesia toward energy\nself-sufficiency<\/p>\n
Related news: Prabowo targets up to 50 ethanol plants to support E20\nfuel program<\/p>\n
Related news: Prabowo reviews sugar-to-bioethanol project to boost\nenergy security<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/how-sugarcane-is-powering-indonesias-bioethanol-ambition-1784724625", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }