Unresolved Sugar Problems

Kompas/Ferganata Indra Riatmoko

A worker passes the sugarcane milling room at Tasikmadu sugar factory in Karanganyar regency, Central Java, Monday (15/5). In the grinding season this year, the sugar mill is targeted to process 320,000 tons of sugarcane. The processing capacity of the mill, which was built in 1871, will be raised from 3,050 tons of sugarcane per day to 4,000 tons per day.

In order to overcome a glut of sugar, various regulations have been issued by different levels of government, such as the coordinating economic minister, technical ministers and directorates general of the respective ministries. However, the regulations have failed to meet the sugarcane farmers’ demand (Kompas, 28/10). The glut occurred because we have not view the problem comprehensively.

There are three main issues in the Indonesian sugar industry, all of which influence each other. First, the structure of the sugar industry is burdened by old sugar mills (PG) with limited capacity and outdated technology.