Who is to Blame for Refined Sugar Leaking into the Market Causing State-Owned Enterprises to Incur Losses?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The leakage of refined sugar into the market and anomalies in the absorption of local sugar are considered the root causes of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the sugar sector incurring losses of Rp 680 billion in 2025. The sugar trade management issues were spotlighted during a working meeting of Commission VI of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) with the State-Owned Enterprises Regulatory Agency (BP BUMN), the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) some time ago. Head of the State-Owned Enterprises Regulatory Agency Dony Oskaria stated that PT Sinergi Gula Nusantara (SGN), or Sugar Co, recorded a loss of Rp 680 billion last year. “Sugarco recorded a loss of Rp 680 billion due to prices that were not sufficiently good, resulting from uncontrolled sugar imports,” Dony said at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday (8/4/2026). “If this continues, it will be difficult for our sugar industry to develop due to leakages of refined sugar entering the market,” Dony added. He revealed that in 2025, SOEs along with the Ministry of Agriculture purchased people’s sugar worth Rp 1.5 trillion as a form of subsidy, but it was still ineffective. Therefore, he urged the issuance of regulations to address the spectre of sugar imports. “If not, in my opinion, it will be difficult for us to cope with sugar prices that then lead to leakages from imported refined sugar entering society,” he stated. “What is happening in the field, let’s be open: refined sugar is flooding. If it leaks, even a little, it’s a flood,” he said. Amran detected anomalies in the domestic sugar trade management. Because, when local production has not yet met the volume of domestic consumption, local sugar is not selling. The Ministry of Agriculture recorded that domestic sugar production is only 2.67 million tonnes. “On one hand, our production is lacking, but our sugar cannot sell. So our production is short but the molasses sugar cannot sell,” said Amran. He admitted to having directly heard complaints from sugarcane farmers in Central Java, East Kalimantan, and South Sulawesi. They complained about refined sugar leaking into the market. That sugar is said to have purity and colour standards identical to local white crystal sugar. “This is a big problem. So what is hitting our farmers is us ourselves,” he said.