Dahlan Urges Refined Sugar Importers to Keep Their Promises
15 July 2014 16:56 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan urges the refined sugar importers to keep their promises, saying that they had promise to build sugar factory mills in Indonesia.
“They should not reap all the profits without thinking about the domestic industry’s sake,” Dahlan said on Friday, July 11, 2014.
Dahlan explained that the government would strive to boost domestic sugar production by revitalizing old factories, building new ones, improving land management and irrigation, as well as maintaining price for the sake of farmers.
“So we should go hand-in-hand,” he said.
To attain the goals, the government will make improvements within three to four years to boost national sugar production and to reduce imported sugar. In addition, the government will also keep imported refined sugar from entering traditional market to prevent the local sugar price from slumping.
According to Dahlan, sugar imports are still high despite government’s efforts to build new factories. Dahlan said the current demands for sugar have reached three million tons, while the local production capacity is at 1.7 million tons.
JAYADI SUPRIADIN