Import of Refined Sugar Raw Materials to Be Shifted to SOEs, Will Prices Rise?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The government’s plan to shift the import of raw materials for refined sugar from the private sector to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has drawn criticism. This policy is seen as risky in triggering an increase in raw sugar prices, rather than solving the domestic sugar distribution issues. During a Hearing with Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives on 8 April 2026, the government proposed transferring the import of raw sugar for refined sugar to SOEs. However, Khudori, an agricultural expert from the Indonesian Political Economy Association (AEPI), views this step as not addressing the root cause. According to him, shifting the import of raw sugar from the private sector to SOEs does not resolve the main problem and even has the potential to add to the distribution chain. From a supply chain perspective, this policy means adding a new layer to the marketing process, which will ultimately take additional margins. The increase in raw material prices will then be felt by refined sugar factories that rely on imported raw sugar. The rising production costs will ultimately tend to be passed on to user industries such as food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals, so price pressure could spread to end consumers. “The import shift is not a solution. In supply chain theory, it adds another marketing point, which in the end they will charge margins, so ultimately the raw sugar price will be expensive, and it will impact the refined sugar factories that use raw sugar as raw material,” said Khudori in a press statement on Wednesday (15/4/2026). This is due to the limited financial capacity and marketing network of the SOEs assigned. “In the end, consumers have to pay a very high price, because ultimately the assigned SOE does not have sufficient financial capacity and also does not have a marketing network,” he explained. Furthermore, Khudori emphasised that the main issue of refined sugar leakage does not lie in who imports, but in the weak distribution supervision and the high price disparity between consumption sugar and refined sugar.