Sugar farmers head to Jakarta for rally

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Some 2,000 sugar plantation farmers left East Java for Jakarta on Tuesday to stage a protest against the widespread smuggling of sugar into Indonesia, which has been blamed for a decline in the price of the commodity.

They will demonstrate at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, representing at least 31 Java sugar mills.

The demonstration was aimed at putting pressure on the central government to immediately stop sugar smuggling from abroad and destroy that seized from illegal importers.

The government should firmly enforce Decree No. 643/2002 on sugar business administration issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which bans the entry of imported sugar to the domestic market, the protesters said.

The rally is being led by Indonesian Sugar Farmers Association head Arum Sabil who departed from Surabaya along with the demonstrators on board 25 buses.

"All are representatives of sugar mills from across East Java, including Situbondo, Madiun, Lumajang and Nganjuk," Sabil said prior to departure.

Before heading to Jakarta, the farmers staged a rally at the offices of state-owned sugar company PTPN II on Jl. Merak, Surabaya.

During the protest, they urged PTPN II as East Java's parent sugar firm to support their departure to Jakarta. "If officials of the company back the action of sugar farmers, they should come here and join us," Sabil said.

The move was apparently triggered by a recent statement by the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) that seemed to defend sugar importers.

The statement was considered an insult by local sugar farmers as the entry of imported sugar is clearly banned under the decree.

"The KPPU should not act as the mouthpiece of businesspeople who have betrayed the nation by importing sugar," Sabil said in a free speech forum aboard a truck during the demonstration.

He said the KPPU's stance in favor of importers was against the prevailing rules on sugar trading in Indonesia. "We should reject it," Sabil added.

The demonstrators also demanded that the decree be made a presidential decision so as to further protect local sugar farmers, consumers and industry at a national level.

They also urged security authorities to take tough action against sugar smugglers who were allegedly controlling the domestic market.

Data from Sabil's association shows that police often halted investigations into arrested sugar smugglers without explanation. Smuggled sugar was even quietly released onto the domestic market.

"We have received data that of 235 containers of illegally imported sugar confiscated at Tanjung Priok port, Jakarta, as many as 96 have disappeared," Sabil said.

Smuggled sugar is sold for only Rp 1,800 per kilogram (kg) on the domestic market, while the production cost of local sugar is up to Rp 3,300 per kg.