How sugarcane is powering Indonesia's bioethanol ambition
..these targets will only materialize if factories are truly constructed, the molasses supply chain remains resilient, and crop prices stay fair for the farmers..Jakarta (ANTARA) - Landing at Abdulrachman Saleh Airport in Malang, passengers are greeted by sprawling green fields that look like wild grass from above but are actually vast stretches of sugarcane.
As it turns out, those sugarcane plantations are more than just a scenic backdrop surrounding the air base. The sugarcane is actively cultivated for production and is destined for more than just sweetening coffee or tea.
Beyond meeting the nation’s sugar needs, it is helping power Indonesia’s transition to bioethanol.
During a visit to the sugarcane plantation near the air base on Friday, July 17, President Prabowo Subianto sounded the siren to mark the start of a nationwide harvest at 43 locations. The initiative kicked off harvesting for three key commodities, including sugarcane, rice, and soybeans.
Of the three commodities, sugarcane accounts for the largest share. Land managed under the Indonesian Air Force’s food security program spans 236,048 hectares, with the potential to produce 18.386 million tons of sugarcane, equivalent to 1.36 million tons of sugar, or 45.05 percent of this year’s national sugar production target.
At Abdulrachman Saleh Air Force Base alone, 800.5 hectares are ready for harvest, with an estimated yield of 72,045 tons of sugarcane.
Viewed through the lens of Indonesia’s history, the expansion to 236,048 hectares reveals a striking irony.
In the 1930s, the Dutch East Indies produced up to 3 million tons of sugar annually on roughly 196 thousand to 200 thousand hectares in Java, yielding an impressive 14.7 tons of sugar per hectare from far less land.
Sugar exports reached 2.4 million tons, making the Dutch East Indies the world’s second-largest sugar exporter after Cuba.
In other words, the land now managed by the Indonesian Air Force under its food security program already exceeds the total sugarcane plantation area in Java during the colonial government’s most productive period, although projected sugar output has yet to match that historical record.
The difference between then and now is not only about sugar yield rates and milling technology but also about the direction of the commodity itself. During the colonial era, sugar flowed overseas, filling the coffers of the Dutch East Indies government and supplying European markets, while local sugarcane farmers remained at the end of the value chain with the smallest share of the benefits.
Following independence, the national sugar industry fell into a long decline, accelerated by the impact of World War II.
Consequently, Indonesia transformed from one of the world’s premier sugar exporters into one of its largest importers for decades.
For this reason, the simultaneous harvest in Malang represents a crucial step toward reversing that historical trajectory, redirecting sugar production to secure domestic needs first.
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Bioethanol
What sets today’s effort apart from history is the fate of the sugarcane itself. Abdulrachman Saleh Air Force Base is evolving into an integrated hub, managing the crop from field to final product. Rather than focusing solely on commercial sugar, the facility converts processing byproducts like molasses into bioethanol, organic fertilizers, and an array of high-value industrial materials.
During the harvest event, officials from Pertamina New and Renewable Energy presented to the President a comparison of bioethanol implementation in India, where the blending rate has reached 20 percent (E20), and Brazil, which has implemented a mandatory E30 blend, with E100 already in use in several states.
In response, the President directed officials to establish 50 new bioethanol plants, stressing that Indonesia must rapidly close the gap with these global leaders.
The government, through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, has gradually begun implementing a five-percent bioethanol blend (E5) since July 2026 in six provinces, namely East Java, Jakarta, West Java, Banten, Central Java, and Yogyakarta.
Although the current roadmap targets E10 implementation between 2028 and 2030, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia is preparing to jump directly to mandatory E20 implementation to begin in 2028.
The bioethanol market index price as of July 2026 has been set at Rp10,933 per liter, calculated using a formula that directly links the price of farmers’ molasses to the value of the biofuel.
Bioethanol demand to achieve E20 is estimated at eight million kiloliters, a figure that appears large but is relatively small compared with annual gasoline imports, which stand at around 20 million kiloliters annually.
Molasses, once a by-product of sugar processing, has now become a raw material for substituting imported fuel, and every hectare of harvested sugarcane carries dual value, serving as a source of both table sugar and domestic energy.
The upstream-to-downstream model also changes the economic incentives for sugarcane farmers because demand, which once depended entirely on sugar prices, is now also supported by molasses prices linked to national energy needs.
Building 50 new processing plants, expanding the E5 rollout across six provinces, and reaching E20 by 2028 is a bold national ambition. Yet these targets will only materialize if factories are truly constructed, the molasses supply chain remains resilient, and crop prices stay fair for the farmers tending the fields.
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