Farmers protest imported sugar

Farmers protest imported sugar

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi: Dozens of sugarcane farmers in South
Sulawesi flocked to the provincial legislative council on Friday
to protest the influx of allegedly smuggled sugar into the
province.

The protesters, from the People's Sugarcane Farmers
Association, said the circulation of the foreign product on the
market had caused the price of domestic sugar to fall during the
harvest season.

They urged to the government and the council to ban or to
limit the entry of foreign sugar into the province.

On Thursday, police raided a warehouse in the South Sulawesi
capital of Makassar and found 2,000 tons of sugar allegedly
smuggled from Thailand.

The sugar was shipped from Medan, North Sumatra, without the
necessary documentation from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog)
and state-owned plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara.

Rahman Halid from the province's Sugar Distributors
Association said foreign sugar was sold for less than Rp 3,600
per kilogram, while the retail price of domestic sugar stood at
Rp 4,200 per kilogram. -- JP