Indonesia to rely on sugar imports until 2000
Indonesia to rely on sugar imports until 2000
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will continue to be a net importer of
sugar until the year 2000 because of steadily rising domestic
demand, an official said yesterday.
The Ministry of Agriculture's Director General of Plantations
A. Rante Tondok said domestic per capita sugar consumption would
reach 18 kilograms in 2000, up from 17 kg last year.
National sugar consumption would increase from 3.3 million
tons in 1995 to 3.8 million tons in 2000, he added.
The country only produced 2.1 million tons last year, although
it was a significant increase from 1.6 million tons for 1983.
Tondok doubted Indonesia could meet its production target of
2.8 million tons this year. He did not elaborate, nor mention how
much sugar would be imported.
He was quoted by Antara as projecting Indonesia's sugar
production would reach 3.1 million tons by the end of the Sixth
Five-Year Development Plan in 1999.
The government announced a plan earlier this year to close 27
of the 57 state-owned sugar mills in Java which have been
rendered grossly inefficient by their outdated machinery.
The government has since urged private investors to replace
the old mills with new ones on other islands.
Eight private sugar mills have since expressed interest in
operating outside Java by the year 2000.
Three of the mills, each with a daily refining capacity of
8,000 tons and a plantation area of 20,000 hectares, will be
built in the southern part of Sumatra by Sudono Salim's PT Indo
Lampung and PT Laju Perdana Indah.
Two mills with the same capacity and acreage will be built in
Southeast Sulawesi by state-owned plantation company PTP
Nusantara XIV.
The other three will be developed in East Timor, West Nusa
Tenggara and Irian Jaya by state and private companies.
National sugar output has declined over the last three years
to 2.1 million tons last year, and imports have increased to meet
the shortfall.
Last year 300,000 tons of sugar was imported, mainly from
Thailand.
Tondok said that by 2000, local sugar mills would be expected
to produce about 2.6 million tons.
"This is assuming the new mills outside Java are up and
running," he said.
Chairman of the Indonesian Sugar Association Samsir also
expressed concern about domestic sugar supplies. While
neighboring countries were progressing in this field, Indonesia
was regressing, he said.
"We are surrounded by 'sugar giants' such as Australia,
Thailand and India which are all progressing quickly," he was
quoted by Antara as saying at the association's congress in
Denpasar, Bali.
Samsir said the government dominated Indonesia's sugar
industry but sugar-cane farmers were only paid 50 percent of the
retail price.
"This means (sugar prices) are still heavily burdened by taxes
and sales margins," he said.
Samsir warned that high prices would harm the country once it
was exposed to global free trade.
The situation is likely to get worse because Indonesia's
sugar production shows no sign of significant growth, he said.
(pwn)