Badanas Boss Asks Food SOEs To Accelerate Realization Of Sugar Imports, What's Up?

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The National Food Agency (Bapanas) has asked State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) in the food sector and the private sector to accelerate the realization of sugar imports.

The reason is, the current realization of sugar imports has only reached 26 percent or 249,781 tons of the total quota of 1.01 million tons.

"As soon as possible, our brothers and sisters who hold imported quotas must realize their imports, including SOEs in the food sector, RNI and private PTPN are the same," said Head of Badanas Arief Prasetyo Adi at the commemoration of World Food Day in 2023 monitored online in Jakarta, Monday, October 16.

Arief said, one of the reasons for the low realization of imports is because the private sector will only import it if prices abroad are lower.

In fact, he said, the main purpose of imports is to fulfill domestic stocks.

"Privates (privates) are also only importing if they are profitable. If the price outside is higher, they do not import. That's not the way, importing is not just a price," he said.

Even so, Arief emphasized that his party would review the Reference Purchase Price (HAP) of sugar so that importers would not lose money.

Meanwhile, Acting Head of BPS Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti said, there are three food commodities that need attention in the second week of October 2023, namely granulated sugar, rice, and cayenne pepper.

"Sand sugar and rice continue to increase. There are 338 districts/cities experiencing an increase in sugar," he said.

He explained that the three commodities are a common concern in the future, so that prices throughout Indonesia can be controlled and keep people's purchasing power.

"So, for this week we convey information that there are three commodities that need attention, namely sugar, rice, and cayenne pepper," he concluded.