Plan to relocate sugar mills opposed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government's plan to relocate its sugar
\nindustry to outside Java is not realistic, industry figures have
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The director of sugar mill PT Sweet Indolampung, Daddy
\nHariadi, said over the weekend that moving half of Java's 54
\nsugar mills would require at least 300,000 hectares of land for
\nsugar cane plantations and construction of the mills.<\/p>\n
"It will be very difficult to find 300,000 hectares of land
\noutside Java that is suitable for sugar cane plantation," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
A sugar cane plantation needs to be at a certain altitude and
\nwith a certain humidity, have a sufficient supply of water and
\nthick, fertile topsoil.<\/p>\n
"If, for instance, the government successfully finds such
\nsuitable land, it may not be feasible given the distance from
\nsugar consumers in Java," he said.<\/p>\n
Gunawan Sukarso, Director of the Indonesian Sugarcane
\nPlantations Research Center (P3I) echoed Daddy's view, saying
\nthat moving the sugar cane industry off Java would be very
\ncostly.<\/p>\n
"A sugar mill with production capacity of 120,000 tons of
\nsugar annually has to be supported by 20,000 hectares of sugar
\ncane plantations. It will need investment of around US$150
\nmillion," he said.<\/p>\n
Gunawan said it would be better if the government closed the
\ninefficient sugar mills on Java and restored and upgraded the
\nother sugar mills and sugar cane plantations to make them work
\nmore efficiently.<\/p>\n
"It will be easier and cheaper to rehabilitate Java's sugar
\nmills rather than to relocate them to outside Java," he said.<\/p>\n
The government's plan to move the local sugar industry away
\nfrom Java was announced by Minister of Industry and Trade Rahardi
\nRamelan earlier this year.<\/p>\n
Rahardi blamed the in inefficient production of Java mill for
\nlocally made sugar failing to compete with imported sugar.<\/p>\n
"Most sugar mills on Java are very old and are no longer
\neconomically viable. They also are not supported by productive
\nsugar cane plantations," he said.<\/p>\n
Some of the mills on Java are state-owned and equipped with
\nmachinery dating back to colonial times, making them far less
\nproductive than those of other companies, he said.<\/p>\n
Rahardi said increased production could only come from
\nplantations outside of Java where more land was available.<\/p>\n
He said there currently are eight sugar refineries outside
\nJava with sugar production around 500,000 metric tons a year.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Indonesian Sugar Association (IGA) Farukh
\nBakri told The Jakarta Post on Friday that according surveys,
\nthere are 2 million hectares of land in Eastern Indonesian
\nprovinces that are suitable for the sugar industry.<\/p>\n
There are 800,000 hectares of land in Irian Jaya, 816,000
\nhectares in Maluku, 198,000 hectares in Central Kalimantan and
\nanother 190,000 hectares in East Timor that could be planted with
\nsugarcane, he said.<\/p>\n
"But it will need further studies to see whether or not it
\nwill be economically viable to develop the sugar industry in
\nthose areas," he said.<\/p>\n
Domestic sugar consumption is expected to reach 3.1 million
\ntons, of which 1.7 million tons will be produced locally. (gis)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/plan-to-relocate-sugar-mills-opposed-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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