Sugarcane farmers threaten boycott<\/p>\n
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java<\/p>\n
Thousands of sugar cane farmers in the West Java regency of
\nCirebon threatened to boycott the supply of sugar cane to sugar
\nproducers unless the government raised the price of sugar cane,
\nsaid the chairman of the local sugar cane farmers' association.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Cirebon branch of the Association of Sugarcane
\nFarmers (APTRI) Anwar Asmaili said that farmers demanded sugar
\nmills purchase their sugar cane for at least Rp 3,500 (about 41
\nU.S. cents) per kilogram.<\/p>\n
The minimum price for sugar cane is set by the government,
\nwhich has recently proposed increasing it by Rp 150 to Rp 3,250.<\/p>\n
\"If the demand is not met by the government, they (sugar cane
\nfarmers) will not release their sugar cane into the market until
\nthe government pays the price differential,\" Anwar said on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
He said the threat had come from 35,000 Cirebon sugar cane
\nfarmers, who supply sugar for markets along West Java's north
\ncoast and southern parts.<\/p>\n
Without an agreement with the government, he said, the farmers
\nwould retain their sugar cane harvest for this year.<\/p>\n
Currently, sugar mills throughout the province purchase
\nfarmers' sugar cane at a minimum of Rp 3,100 per kilogram.<\/p>\n
Anwar said that even with an increase of Rp 150 per kilogram,
\nmany farmers would still operate at a loss. He said only sugar
\ncame farmers with a high productivity could survive on the
\nrevised minimum price.<\/p>\n
Farmers also agreed on a 20 percent share for the government
\nif the price of sugar cane in the market exceeded the minimum
\nprice of Rp 3,500, he added.<\/p>\n
The government has had difficulties regulating the sugar
\nindustry, facing protests at low sugar cane prices from farmers
\non one hand, and steep prices for sugar consumers on the other.<\/p>\n
Last year an influx of imported sugar put a strain on farmers
\nwho suffered from a fall in sugar prices.<\/p>\n
A new policy restricting sugar importers to four state-owned
\ncompanies, from 800 private importers previously, had only led to
\na surge in sugar prices among consumers, but not, however, for
\nsugar farmers.<\/p>\n
Government officials have blamed the industry's distribution
\nchannels for the price disparity. Analysts said that it showed
\nrent-seeking was widespread in the sugar industry.<\/p>\n
Anwar said that the West Java administration had offered Rp 5
\nbillion in bailout funds when sugar prices plunged amid the
\ninflux of imported sugar last year.<\/p>\n
This year, he said, the administration had Rp 17 billion to
\nbail out farmers should prices plunge again. So far, he added,
\nnone of the money had been disbursed.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sugarcane-farmers-threaten-boycott-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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