Heat Adjusts Sugar Price To IDR 14,500 Per Kg

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

The National Food Agency will immediately adjust the Sales Reference Price (HAP) for consumption sugar to IDR 14,500 per kilogram (Kg) at the consumer level in Java and IDR 15,500 for consumers on the outer islands and borders as an effort to increase domestic sugar production.

The reasonable price in this sealing at the sugar cane equivalent price at the farmer level is supposed to be IDR 12,500. In consumers it should be IDR 14,500 for Java and then outside Java matches the results of our discussion with reasonable calculations to reach the outermost areas, borders and logistics distribution, perhaps in the position of IDR 15,500," said Deputy for Food Availability and Stabilization. Badanas, I Gusti Ketut Astawa was quoted from Antara, Thursday, June 8.

Ketut said, the need for sugar consumption in a year is 3.4 million tons and the need for year-end stock is 1.4 million tons.

Although the sugar milling season is just starting, Ketut said that the government has planned to import around 900 thousand tons of sugar because domestic production is only estimated at 2.7 million tons.

Therefore, Bapanas together with ministries/agencies as well as stakeholders including farmers agreed to increase the price of sugar which is expected to boost the production of farmers.

If the price of sugar at the farmer level is appropriate, then he believes farmers will be more comfortable and will plant more.

This year, the harvest is being carried out. This means that if we make adjustments now, it is very beneficial for farmers because the farmers' HAP is now Rp11,500. Now, if it can be approved to Rp12,500, it will be very pleasing to farmers," he said.

Ketut said that the proposed adjustment of the Basic Sales Price (HPP) of sugar and sugar in farmers, as well as the sugar HAP (HAP) at the consumer level, was just waiting for approval from the Cabinet Secretariat so that final discussions could be carried out. He also guaranteed that the adjustment would not have a significant impact on inflation

"This happens to be the involvement of all parties, I prefer to call it an adjustment, so it is a natural adjustment. We do it to anticipate inflation also even though we have calculated the impact of inflation is very small," he said.

The current price of consumption sugar has been observed to increase. Nationally, the average ranges from Rp. 14,500 per kg to the highest reaching Rp. 16,000 per kg in Papua.