Indonesia mandates sugar factories and importers to own sugarcane farms to boost self‑sufficiency
Indonesia’s Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said all sugar‑processing plants must own sugarcane farms and supply at least 20 % of their raw‑material needs, as required by the 2013 Ministerial Regulation No 98 and the 2014 Plantation Law. The rule, already in law since 2014, is being re‑enforced to protect domestic producers and achieve national sugar self‑sufficiency within two years under President Prabowo Subianto’s directive. The government will also tighten controls on refined‑sugar imports, obliging importers to develop domestic plantations. Only one of the eleven refined‑sugar producers presently complies with the farm‑ownership requirement, prompting the ministry to stress stricter enforcement.
Entities: Andi Amran Sulaiman · Indonesia · Java · Johannes van den Bosch · Ministerial Regulation No 98 (2013) · Ministry of Agriculture (Indonesia) · PT Perkebunan Nusantara · PT Sinergi Gula Nusantara · Prabowo Subianto · President Prabowo Subianto
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 2 SOURCES] Each processing unit must establish its farm within three years and supply at least 20 % of its raw sugarcane needs. (Indonesian regulation)
- [● 2 SOURCES] The policy aims to accelerate national sugar self‑sufficiency and protect sugarcane farmers. (Government objective)
- [● 2 SOURCES] A 2013 Ministry of Agriculture regulation also mandates farm ownership for sugar factories. (Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture regulation)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The modern layout of Java’s sugarcane fields originates from the Dutch colonial Cultuurstelsel forced‑cultivation system introduced in 1830 by Governor‑General Johannes van den Bosch. (Historical analysis)
- [● 2 SOURCES] The requirement is based on the 2014 Indonesian Plantation Law (UU Perkebunan). (Indonesian law)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Indonesia produced 2.46 million tonnes of sugar in 2024 from 520,822 hectares of farmland. (Central Agency on Statistics (BPS) data)
- [● 2 SOURCES] All Indonesian sugar processing factories must own their own sugarcane farms. (Indonesian government policy)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] East Java accounted for 45.99 % of Java’s sugarcane farmland, while Central Java contributed 10.74 %. (BPS data)
- [● 5 SOURCES] All sugar processing units in Indonesia must own sugarcane farms and supply at least 20 % of their raw material needs. (Ministry of Agriculture / 2013 Ministerial Regulation No. 98 and 2014 Plantation Law)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Imported refined sugar has flooded the Indonesian market, depressing domestic prices and causing losses for state‑owned sugar producers. (Ministry of Agriculture)
- [● 4 SOURCES] The requirement is based on the 2013 Ministerial Regulation No 98 and the 2014 Plantation Law (UU Perkebunan). (Ministry of Agriculture)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Molasses price fell from around Rp1,900 per litre to about Rp1,000 per litre in March 2026. (price change)