PTPN I Expands Sugarcane Land to Achieve Sugar Self-Sufficiency

PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) I is expanding its sugarcane plantations beyond Java to Sulawesi as part of a strategy to support the national sugar self-sufficiency programme prioritised by the government through the Ministry of Agriculture. “One of our strategies is to expand land, increasing the area both in Java and Sulawesi, which serves as a backbone for Indonesia’s sugarcane lands,” said PTPN I Corporate Secretary Aris Handoyo, as quoted by Antara on Tuesday, 16 June 2026. He stated that the development of the sugarcane commodity is carried out together with PT Sinergi Gula Nusantara (SGN), a subsidiary that acts as the main manager of the sugar business. According to Aris, PTPN I currently manages around 60,000 hectares of sugarcane land in collaboration with SGN to support the increase in national sugar production. The company’s main strategy is extensification, or expanding planting areas, to strengthen the supply of raw materials for the domestic sugar industry. Land development is not only taking place on Java but is also being extended to Bone and Takalar regencies in South Sulawesi Province, which are considered to have great potential to support the growth of sugarcane plantations. On Java, land expansion is focused on East Java as the national centre for sugarcane, followed by parts of Central Java and West Java. Aris explained that developing sugarcane in other regions, such as Sumatra, faces economic challenges because it must compete with high-value commodities like oil palm. He did not detail the additional land area target to be developed through the extensification programme, as the expansion process is still ongoing in various regions. He noted that sugarcane land development is dynamic and continuously adjusted as potential locations are identified, both in Java and Sulawesi, to support the national sugar self-sufficiency target. “The development of extensification additions can be said to be daily or weekly. Because every day we make efforts to increase the area, both in Java and Sulawesi,” he explained. In addition to expanding land, the company is also strengthening its intensification strategy to increase sugarcane productivity through the use of superior varieties and better cultivation practices. PTPN I is coordinating with PT Pupuk Indonesia to ensure the timely availability of fertiliser for company plantations and smallholder sugarcane farmers. According to Aris, fertilisation that meets the plants’ needs will increase the sucrose content of the sugarcane, resulting in a higher sugar yield. Increasing the yield is considered important because it can boost national sugar production while also increasing farmers’ profits, thereby encouraging greater interest in planting sugarcane. The company is also carrying out ratoon destruction (replanting) in several areas of East Java to improve the productivity of plantations that have experienced declining harvests. Aris said the expansion and productivity improvement measures are being carried out simultaneously so that the sugar self-sufficiency target can be achieved more quickly. In the future, PTPN I hopes that Indonesia will not only be able to independently meet its consumption sugar needs but also have the opportunity to become a sugar exporter again. Previously, Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman emphasised that the target for white sugar self-sufficiency by 2027 remains on schedule and has not shifted despite various challenges in national production and distribution. “Our target is next year, white sugar self-sufficiency. That is our target. Hopefully, it will not be missed again,” said Amran.