Production of refined sugar
for the food and beverage industry, both from small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) and large enterprises, in the next year is expected to increase with 3.4
million tons of raw material quota. Suryo Alam, Chairman of the Indonesian
Refined Sugar Association (AGRI), in Jakarta (Friday, November 22) said the
predicted increase of raw material refined sugar is in line with the growth of
the food and beverage industry in the country. He explained that this year the
refined sugar raw material quota is 3.1 million tons, higher than in 2012 at
2.6 million tons. This, he said, showed that the food and beverage industry is
growing by year, let alone many food and beverage factories of foreign
companies that began to emerge.
Although the value of the Rupiah weakened this year, but
according to Suryo, refined sugar raw materials which is 100% imported does not
significantly affect demand for the food and beverage industries are exporting
their products. Suryo added that the leakage of refined sugar into the consumer
market is happening outside java because of the lack of sugar supply so that
consumers switch to refined sugar, but for cooperative, SMEs and association of
small traders who produce snacks and beverages for resale.
Previously, the Indonesian Sugar and Flour Association
(Apegti) stated that the case permeation of refined sugar that occurs in a
number of areas would drop the price of sugar produced by farmers. Chairman of
Apegti, Natsir Masyur, stated that the permeation of refined sugar into the
public market led to a fall in the price of consumption sugar produced by
farmers so that they find it difficult to compete in the market. Natsir asked
the government to be transparent about refined sugar audit promised a few years
ago.
Apegti reminded that the government related to the House
of Representatives’ Commission VI to pay attention to the condition with the
predefined policies. He stressed that the problem of refined sugar permeation
should be watched out because it will result in the closing of cane-based sugar
mills in Java. Previously, the Ministry of Trade will impose sanctions in the
form of reduction of refined sugar import allocation to companies are proven to
have committed violation or permeation of refined sugar into the market.
On the other hand, a number of observations estimated
that the target of realization of national sugar self-sufficiency at 5 million
tons by 2014 is threatened because of the differences in opinion between the
government and sugar cane farmers to get the achievement. Indonesia Sugarcane
Farmers Association (APTRI) considered that government measures which only
proclaimed area 300,000 hectares will be useless if not supported by efforts to
increase of yield of sugarcane produced by farmers by modernization of
equipment. One of the government’s effort that should be taken to increase
productivity and yield it is to revitalize sugar factories as mush as possible,
in line with the preparation for the free market in 2015.
Currently,
the orientation of the government and sugar cane farmers in achieving sugar
self-sufficiency is conflicting. The government believed that it only needs to
add sugarcane acreage alone, while from farmer side, if productivity and yield
do not increase, the sugar produced from sugar cane plants will not be much. In
addition to encouraging farmers to make crop improvement, extensification,
ratoon cropping, and balanced use of fertilizers, the government should also do
revitalization of sugar factories as much as possible because of equipment
modernization could increase productivity and yield.
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