According to Herman Fauzi, secretary of the APTRI’s branch in sugar-producing Assembagoes sub-district in Situbondo district, East Java, the commitment was sealed following talks between the association and the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs.
“Last week, central APTRI executives coordinated with related ministries and received a solution that Danantara will disburse its fund through PT Sinergi Gula Nusantara to purchase farmers’ sugar,” he informed here on Saturday.
He added that thousands of tons of unsold sugar has piled up at the Assembagoes sugar factory in Situbondo. The price offered by merchants for the sugar is below the Rp14,500 per kilogram reference price, which the factory has rejected.
“For the last four weeks, merchants have offered to buy the sugar at only Rp14,350, or even at Rp14,200 per kilogram. The minimum price must be Rp14,500,” Fauzi said.
The official further said he suspects the decline in the price of farmers’ sugar is due to the influx of refined sugar in markets, though it is intended for industrial purposes and not daily retail consumption.
“Refined sugar is not as sweet as ordinary sugar, and it is cheaper,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mulyono, general manager of the Assembagoes sugar factory, which is owned by PT Sinergi Gula Nusantara, said that 5 thousand tons of unsold sugar has accumulated at his company over the last four weeks.
“As a result, we are unable to pay the farmers whose sugarcane is processed at Assembagoes sugar factory,” he said.
Related news: Modernization, plantation expansion crucial for sugar self-sufficiency
Related news: Ex-minister gets 4.5 years in prison for sugar import graft
Related news: Govt revising regulations to meet sugar sufficiency target
Translator: Novi Husdinariyanto, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
