Frans Marganda Tambunan, Director of Indonesia’s state-owned food holding company, ID Food, shed light on the challenges faced by the national sugar industry, revealing a concerning trend of declining domestic sugar production leading to a widening gap between supply and demand, reported Tempo.
Speaking at the National Sugar Summit 2023 in East Jakarta on Wednesday, Dec. 13, Frans underscored the critical importance of effective sugar production for Indonesia, given the commodity’s essential status.
Frans identified two primary factors contributing to the current predicament—the diminishing availability of sugarcane land and the limited technological advancements within the Indonesian sugar industry. Over the past decade, he noted a consistent decline in the average production of sugar, a situation incongruent with the continuous growth in sugar consumption observed annually.
In the last ten years, sugar production in Indonesia has seen a decline of 1.16 percent. This contrasts with a 7.4 percent increase in sugar cultivation area and a 0.9 percent rise in yield. Additionally, Frans highlighted a 2.06 percent decrease in sugarcane productivity in Indonesia. While climate issues played a role, Frans argued that the primary cause of the decline is the insufficient application of technology in the country’s sugar industry.
Frans emphasized the pivotal role of technology in assisting business players to enhance commodity production in Indonesia.
