Indonesian government aims to dominate sugar sector in same way as palm oil

Indonesia's sugar trade has been in deficit for many years, with data from theObservatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) showing that as of 2020 the countryexported just US.1mn in raw sugar, but imported US.46bn of it.

It is the fourteenth most imported product by Indonesia.

Given rising commodity cost pressures and an as-yet-unrecovered supply chain, it is nosurprise that Indonesia - which hit 5.95% inflation in September 2022, with food amajor upward pressure at 7.91% - is seeking out strategies to reduce costs and stabilizeits local food supply.

The Indonesian government recently established state-owned company PT Sinergi GulaNusantara (SGN) which controls 36 sugar mills in the country and will be implementingfurther land expansion for sugar cane to 700,000 hectares over the next six years till2028, making it the largest sugar company in the country.