{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1669579,
        "msgid": "national-sugar-under-scrutiny-again-but-its-listed-companies-performance-remains-sweet-1775814659",
        "date": "2026-04-10 15:50:31",
        "title": "National Sugar Under Scrutiny Again, But Its Listed Companies' Performance Remains Sweet?",
        "author": "",
        "source": "CNBC",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Agriculture",
        "summary": "Indonesia's sugar industry faces significant challenges from high import dependency and uncontrolled inflows of refined sugar, which are pressuring local prices and causing substantial losses for state-owned enterprises, despite increasing domestic production driven by smallholder plantations. Government interventions, including subsidies and import regulations, have yet to yield significant results, though efforts towards self-sufficiency by 2027 are underway. Amid market volatility, listed companies like PT Aman Agrindo Tbk (GULA) are adjusting strategies to maintain profitability, while PT Tunas Baru Lampung Tbk (TBLA) benefits from its integrated business model.",
        "content": "<p>Indonesia\u2019s sugar industry currently has a complex historical and\nstructural track record. Before independence, Indonesia held the\nposition of the world\u2019s second-largest sugar producer after Cuba.\nHowever, that status has shifted dramatically, making Indonesia a\ncountry with very high dependence on sugar imports. This fundamental\nchange was partly triggered by past economic policies, including the\nadoption of free-market recommendations from the International Monetary\nFund (IMF), which eliminated bans and restrictions on domestic\ncommodities. The lack of adequate protection at that time opened the\ndoor for imported products to enter massively and alter the national\nsugar trade structure to this day. The domestic sugar industry is under\nscrutiny following comments from Danantara\u2019s Chief Operating Officer\n(COO), Dony Oskaria, who highlighted the uncontrolled influx of sugar\nimports that is impacting the local industry. \u201cThis year, Sugar Co\nrecorded a loss of Rp 680 billion due to prices that are indeed not good\nenough, resulting from uncontrolled sugar imports,\u201d said Dony. He\nexplained that the entry of refined sugar into the consumer market is\npressuring local sugar prices and making it difficult for the industry\nto develop. According to him, this situation could continue to squeeze\nthe national sugar industry if not addressed promptly. Dony also\nmentioned government intervention steps that have been taken but are\ndeemed not yet effective in improving the market. \u201cI have discussed this\nseveral times with Mr.\u00a0Minister of Agriculture (Amran Sulaiman);\nactually, we are providing subsidies to the market to absorb all the\nsugar from the public amounting to Rp 1.5 trillion. But that also did\nnot give a significant impact,\u201d he stated. Citing the Central Statistics\nAgency (BPS), national sugar production increased in 2024 to 2.46\nmillion tonnes, up from 2.23 million tonnes in 2023. This rise was\nsupported by the expansion of sugarcane planting areas to 520,823\nhectares, higher than 489,338 hectares the previous year. The largest\nsource of growth came from smallholder plantations, with production\nreaching 1.61 million tonnes, or about two-thirds of the national total.\nIndonesia\u2019s sugar production structure indeed relies on farmers. Over\nthe last decade, the contribution from smallholder plantations has\nconsistently been dominant. In 2014, smallholder production was at 1.37\nmillion tonnes. That figure has remained high until 2024. State and\nprivate large plantations, on the other hand, tend to stagnate or even\ndecline compared to a decade ago. Paradox of Production and Import Flows\nThe current sugar industry situation is marked by opposing dynamics\nbetween upstream capacity and downstream market stability. Based on\nCentral Statistics Agency data, national sugar production actually shows\nan increasing trend. The expansion of sugarcane harvest areas has become\nthe main driving factor for growing domestic production capacity.\nDespite the increase in domestic supply, sugar import volumes still\nrecord substantial figures each year to meet the total national need of\naround 5.3 million tonnes annually. Challenges in Distribution and\nLeakage of Refined Sugar The market structure imbalance above is further\nexacerbated by weaknesses in the distribution chain. The main challenge\npressuring the stability of local commodity prices is the indication of\nleakage in the distribution of refined sugar made from imported raw\nsugar. Products that are strictly allocated by regulation for the\nprocessing industry sector are known to leak into the household consumer\nmarket on a massive scale. This supply leakage causes locally produced\nwhite crystal sugar, which is mostly supported by sugarcane farmers, to\nstruggle to be optimally absorbed by the market. As a result, the\nselling price of the commodity is pressured, triggering losses across\nvarious lines, from declining farmer incomes to hundreds of billions of\nrupiah in losses recorded by state-owned corporate entities in the sugar\nsector. As a mitigation and structural improvement step, the government\nis implementing tightened import regulations, food holding\nconsolidation, and the implementation of a massive ratoon dismantling\nprogramme or sugarcane plant rejuvenation with a target of achieving\nself-sufficiency in consumer sugar by 2027 at the latest. Performance of\nPT Aman Agrindo Tbk (GULA) Amid Market Volatility Price pressures and\ntrade uncertainties directly affect the financial performance\nrealisation of issuers in the sugar sector, one of which is PT Aman\nAgrindo Tbk (GULA). As a business entity focused on trading white sugar,\nliquid sugar, and medium-scale sugarcane plantation operations, the\ncompany\u2019s business continuity heavily depends on domestic market price\nstability. The presence of imported refined products filling the retail\nmarket share creates a highly competitive pricing climate for the\ncompany\u2019s trading business line. Based on the 2024 financial statements,\nthe company needs to implement strategy adjustments to maintain\noperational profitability levels. The company\u2019s revenue is mostly\ncontributed by trading activities in the sugar segment, while revenue\nfrom pure sugarcane harvest sales was recorded at Rp 4.03 billion. The\ntotal sales volume of internally produced plantation commodities, namely\nsugarcane, reached 238.02 tonnes over the one-year period. Resilience of\nPT Tunas Baru Lampung Tbk (TBLA)\u2019s Business Model On a different\nspectrum, PT Tunas Baru Lampung Tbk (TBLA) displays a more resilient\noperational profile through the application of a fully integrated\nbusiness structure. The company manages the supply chain from upstream\nto downstream independently, encompassing sugarcane plantation\noperations to the management of processing factories for end products.\nThis integrated business model provides flexibility for management.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/national-sugar-under-scrutiny-again-but-its-listed-companies-performance-remains-sweet-1775814659",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}