The production of granulated sugar by PTPN X is estimated to decrease

`Currently, sugar production is at 310 thousand tons, which is estimated to have decreased by around 10 percent from last year's amount of 460 thousand tons,` said PTPN X Operations Director Tarsisius Sutaryanto in an interview in Kediri, East Java, on Wednesday. Tarsisius, who was interviewed during the inauguration of the Management of the PTPN X APTRI Branch Office, at the Insumo Hotel in Kediri, said that the climate had greatly affected the production of sugar cane by farmers. `The climate has been extraordinary, especially the rain since the beginning of the harvest which has not stopped. This is called La Nina,` he said. Meanwhile, the Head of the APTRI Central Management Board (DPP), Abdul Wachid, added that this year's harvest had been accompanied by much higher costs for farmers, starting from planting. The high costs were not necessarily followed by an optimal yield. The current yield produced from the sugar cane was around 6.5 percent to 7 percent. On the other hand, a result higher than 7 percent was very difficult at the moment. He said that sugar production would likely decline this year. Sugar production in Indonesia reached 2.6 million tons in 2015, but currently only around 2.3 million tons was produced, which was not enough to fulfill domestic consumption. `If there had been no storm this year (La Nina storm), the production could have reached 2.7 million tons (granulated sugar),` he said. The APTRI was aware that the demand for granulated sugar was expected to be insufficient, but he requested that the government not rush into importing sugar. Instead, he requested that the government was wiser in making this policy. Many companies had been granted permission to import sugar with values starting from 200 thousand tons to even 650 thousand tons. Ironically, the import was not in the form of white sugar, but rather in the form of refined sugar, which would then be processed into refined sugar. The APTRI said that the price of sugar was still standard at around Rp11 thousand to Rp12 thousand per kilogram. With this price, the farmers could still make a profit, but if it was below this price, the farmers would start to lose. `We hope that the import will be stopped. The parties who are granted permission to import should be reconsidered. Furthermore, we also request a trade balance, the necessary sugar balance, so that we can help determine whether import is allowed or not. Do not allow imports to continue because it will harm production in 2017,` explained Abdul.
Editor: Tasrief Tarmizi
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