Tebu Land Expansion Can Boost Sugar Production 2025

JAKARTA - Food SOE Holding ID FOOD will focus on expanding sugar cane land, implementing smart farming, and increasing partnerships with farmers to prepare for the 2025 milling season, as well as to boost sugar production.

ID FOOD President Director Sis Apik Wijayanto said the expansion of sugarcane land was very important to do to ensure the supply of raw materials.

According to him, with the increase in sugar cane land, both sugar cane land (HGU) and partnerships, the company will have the certainty of the supply of sugar cane raw materials to be ground into sugar in six Sugar factories (PG) which are currently managed by the ID FOOD Group.

"The expansion of sugar cane land is very important to support sugar production. One of the expansion steps we take is through cooperation in optimizing land with Perhutani and PTPN and other agencies," said Sis Apik in a statement in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Friday, December 20.

Currently, the ID FOOD sugar cane area continues to grow. In 2024, ID FOOD recorded an area of 61 thousand hectares of sugar cane, an increase of 13 percent from the previous year's achievement of 53 thousand hectares.

In addition to expanding sugar cane land which continues to be boosted, according to Sis Apik, increased sugar production is also driven through innovation and digitization along the supply chain of production.

"Currently, we have implemented a digital-based monitoring system which includes monitoring the implementation of slashing, monitoring plant growth, and mapping the area of garden plots," he explained.

Furthermore, Sis Apik said, increasing the partnership of sugarcane farmers is also a pillar that continues to be strengthened to boost the growth of ID FOOD Group's sugar production in 2025.

To stimulate the increase in partnership, ID FOOD cooperates in funding facilities for farmers, starting from the people's business credit program (KUR) by cooperating with banks, the Warehouse Receipt System (SRG), Supply Contracts, and accelerating payments to farmers.

Sis Apik said, strengthening the people's sugarcane farmer partnership is a determining factor that has a direct impact on the supply of sugar cane raw materials.

Thanks to a good partnership with farmers, in the 2024 milling season, the amount of sugar cane milled ID FOOD Group experienced a 12.5 percent jump from 2023, up from 3.5 million tons to 4 million tons.

"This partnership with sugarcane farmers is directly related to the availability and sustainability of sugarcane raw material supplies. The amount of sugar cane is milled into one of the determinants for high production and operational efficiency as measured from factory capacity optimization or long mill time," said Sis Apik.