Mataram, (Antara NTB) - Trade Minister Rahmat Gobel has asked the regional government of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) to prepare 20 thousand hectares of land to cultivate sugarcane to supply raw material to the local sugar mill.
"I have communicated with the Plantation Service Office and asked it to take follow up measures," Deputy Governor of NTB H. Muhammad Amin said here on Saturday.
He added that the trade minister made the request during a regular meeting with the ten provincial governors of Jakarta, Lampung, West Java, Banten, Central Java, East Java, Yogyakarta, NTB, Bali, and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
The minister had asked for a 20-thousand-hectare plot of land to supply raw material to the sugar mill in Doro Peti village in Dompu district, NTB, Amin stated.
The Doro Peti sugar mill is the first sugar factory in Indonesia`s eastern region. When in operation, it can produce 5,000 tons of sugar per day.
When they begin production at the mill, it is believed that it can meet the need for sugar in Indonesia`s eastern region, Amin pointed out.
Moreover, state plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara X (PTPN X) revealed that its 11 factories in East Java produced 468,337 tons of sugar in 2014.
The production fell by around 3 percent from that the previous year due to a climatic anomaly, President of PTPN X Subiyono informed recently.
"Despite the excessive rain in 2013, the company`s output had been relatively stable. It is still the largest sugar producer in the country," he affirmed.
The sugar grade of the sugarcane from its plantation was low due to excessive rain, which also hampered maintenance and delayed harvest, he noted.
The management was able to minimize the damage with improved methods of cultivation and revitalization of factories, Subiyono added.
"In 2014, the sugar grade of the company`s sugarcane was 7.64 percent, which was a significant rise from the 7.19 percent recorded amid the climatic anomaly," he explained.
The productivity of its plantation averaged 85 tons per hectare, which is relatively high as compared to those of other sugar plantations in East Java, he remarked.
PTPN X has 72,233 hectares of sugar plantations in East Java and sugar mills with a milling capacity of 37,234 tons of sugarcane per day, Subiyono said.
According to the company president, the financial performance of PTPN X did not meet expectations in 2014 due to the sharp fall in the cost of sugar to as low as Rp8,500 per kilogram.
The price fell from Rp9,500 per kilogram in 2013 and Rp10,000 per kilogram in 2012.
"The decline in the price was a result of illegal sales of double refined sugar in markets for consumption sugar," he noted.
Double refined sugar, which is produced from raw sugar, which is an imported commodity that feeds industries, such as food and beverage factories, but is sold in markets for consumption sugar. This adds pressure on producers of local sugar, Subiyono explained.
"To make up for the fall in the price, the company has to improve efficiency and cut production costs," he stated.
PTPN X reduced its sugar production costs to as low as Rp5,758 per kilogram in 2014, lower than its Rp6,376 per kilogram production cost in 2013, he added. (*)
Trade Minister Asks NTB to Prepare Land for Sugarcane Plantation
"I have communicated with the Plantation Service Office and asked it to take follow up measures,"
