REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The farmers' association has called on the government to take immediate action to absorb farmers' sugar production. The demand came as white sugar stock has currently reached 700 thousand tons.

Chairman of the Indonesia Sugarcane Farmers Association (APTRI), Arum Sabil, said in a statement here on Monday that farmers would face huge financial loss if the government failed to absorb the production. "We hope the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs would take immediate action to allow the State Logistic Agency (Bulog) to buy the commodity. A synergy among related ministries is necessary to help farmers," Sabil stated.

Sugar price has continued to drop; therefore, a synergy among ministries, including the Trade Ministry, State Enterprises Ministry, and Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, is needed to address the problem, he noted.

Bulog, he continued, should buy the commodity at Rp9.7 thousand to Rp10.5 thousand per kilogram. The suggested price was above the government's reference price at Rp9.1 thousand per kilogram as stipulated in the Trade Minister Regulation no. 58/2018 on sugar reference price.

The association saw that the purchasing price set in the regulation was too low. Based on a survey on sugarcane and sugar basic production cost in 2018, sugar price should reach Rp10.5 thousand per kioogram.

The survey was conducted by Bogor Agriculture University, Gadjah Mada University, Brawijaya University, and the Indonesian Sugarcane Plantation Research Center (P3GI).

APTRI recently held a meeting with Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita on the assignment for Bulog to absorb farmers' production.

However, the government's move to buy the commodity from farmers at Rp9.7 thousandto Rp10.5 thousand per kilogram would need to be discussed by the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs.