Farmers Worried About the Impact of Imported Sugar
Farmers asked the government to guarantee that imports are not carried out during the harvest season.
Two workers unload refined sugar from India using the Margaret SW Ship at Tanjung Priok Port, Jakarta, Tuesday (6/4/2021). The government has issued import permits for around 680,000 tons of raw sugar and consumption sugar since the end of last year.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS - Sugarcane farmers are worried that Industry Ministerial Regulation No. 3/2021 concerning the guarantee of the availability of raw materials for the sugar industry in fulfilling sugar demand will result in a further increase in imports of raw sugar. If it happens it will threaten the sugarcane farmer\'s business because the price of sugar has continued to decline due to an oversupply in the market.
"Imports have the potential to push down local sugar prices. In recent years, the sugar price has been very weak. Sugar imports are continuing so that local sugar prices are under pressure," M. Nasir, a sugarcane farmer in Pagak, Malang, East Java, said on Thursday (8/4/2021).