Maintain Stock And Price, ID FOOD Targets 40,000 Tons Of Imported Sugar To Enter Before Eid 2023

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - SOE Food Holding ID FOOD realizes the assignment of the 2023 White Crystal Sugar (GKP) procurement. A total of 40,000 tons of sugar are targeted to enter before Eid Al-Fitr 2023.

President Director of Food Holding ID FOOD Frans Marganda Tambunan said the import assignment was to maintain the availability and stabilization of sugar food prices to meet Ramadan's needs, ahead of Eid al-Fitr and HBKN 2023.

Frans said the import assignment obtained by ID FOOD was a total of 107,900 tons. In the first phase, he said, 32,500 tons had entered Indonesia through Tanjung Priok Port, Jakarta.

Furthermore, Frans said the imported sugar that had entered came from Thailand. He said, the rest will come gradually until May 2023.

"The realization of this sugar assignment is expected to keep the price of sugar at the Highest Retail Price (HET) set by the government, our target before the 2023 HBKN is completed, there will be another arrival of around 40,000 tons of GKP," he told reporters, written Monday, April 3.

Frans said the plan to realize the sugar supply assignment in 2023 will be carried out at several points in the arrival area. Where is the first arrival in Tanjung Priok Jakarta.

"Next is the arrival at the port points of Tanjung Perak and Medan," he said.

Meanwhile, Head of the National Food Agency Arief Prasetyo Adi said that the sugar supply was carried out to meet the needs of the community.

Based on the calculation of the 2023 Food Commodity Balance from the national requirement of 3.4 million tons, it is estimated that national production will reach 2.6 million tons, while there is still a carry over from 2022 of 1.1 million tons. So that 900,000. tons are still needed to be procured at the end of the year so that at the end of the year there is still a stock of 1.2 million tons.

"Procurement of sugar is only for meeting needs, at this time all of these priorities are domestic production," said Arief.

Furthermore, Arief said the National Food Agency also assigned the Food SOE, ID FOOD to buy farmers' sugar. Arief said the final agreement price was IDR 11,500 per kg.

However, continued Arief, his party will carry out reviews with the people's sugarcane farmer association as an adjustment to get the right price.

"Because Mr. President Jokowi's order the price must be reasonable at the level of farmers, pangolins, and consumers. SOEs are offtakers of the production of farmers and breeders," he said.