Govt to sell more sugar in Jakarta

Govt to sell more sugar in Jakarta

JAKARTA: The government will increase the frequency of market
operations for the sale of cheap sugar in Jakarta from once a
week to three times a week in a bid to suppress rising sugar
prices.

"We will increase the frequency of sugar market operations in
order to keep prices at the level of Rp 5,500 (about US$0.55) a
kilogram," Minister of Trade Mari Pangestu said as quoted by
Antara on Friday.

The price of sugar in Jakarta has seen an increase from the
government's set price of Rp 5,500 to about Rp 6,500 a kilogram
recently.

To ensure that sugar prices remain at the stipulated price,
the government together with PT Perkebunan Nusantara, PT Rajawali
Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) and the private sector agreed to set
aside 250,000 tons of sugar for market operations.

Mari said that her ministry was still determining the
locations and schedule for the market operation where people
could obtain cheap sugar.

The Ministry of Trade has stipulated that PT RNI, Sugar Group
and Gunung Madu Plantations are responsible for organizing sugar
market operations in Jakarta. --JP