Indonesia badly in need of four new sugar plants

Antara, Surabaya

Indonesia needs to build at least four new sugar plants in a bid to help meet sugar demand of 3.4 million tons per annum, Adig Suwandi, secretary-general of the Indonesian Sugar Experts Association (Ikagi), said on Friday.

"Sugar experts are of the opinion that new sugar plants are urgently needed to help local production to catch up with rising demand, both for direct consumption and as raw material for beverage and food industries, predicted within the next three to five years," He said.

The new sugar plants should have had a capacity of producing 150,000 tons of sugar per year, he said.

Total investment for the construction of the four sugar plants was projected to reach between US$120 million and $200 million, including the opening of 20,000 to 25,000 hectares of sugar cane plantations for each factory, he said.

Adig based his calculation on the fact that 54 existing sugar plants in operation throughout the country were capable of producing an average of only 2.9 million tons of sugar, thereby forcing the country to import the remaining amount required.

By comparison, out of 3.4 million tons of sugar demand, 2.5 million tons consisted of white sugar for household consumption, 700,000 tons for food and beverage factories, while the rest was for seasoning plants, he said.

"The demand for white sugar alone is predicted to jump to 3.5 million tons in 2008," Adig said.