In the process to satiate domestic food demand, Indonesia could become world’s largest sugar importer.
Indonesian sugar refineries could become the world’s largest sugar importers, considering there may be a sharp increase of 29 percent in raw sugar importation. Raw sugar imports in Indonesia will most likely see a rise from 2.8 million tonnes to 3.6 million metric tonnes this year, replacing China as the top importer, according to US Department of Agriculture.
The stark rise in Indonesia’s importation may help New York Futures to climb, which had suffered a 57-per cent drop from a 30-year high in 2011, as global harvests outpaced demand.
Owing to changing lifestyles, increasing population and trends in consumption, use of commodities such as sugar, coffee and palm oil has been escalating in Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia is the world’s 7th largest sugar consuming country, and the 3rd largest user of sugar in Asia after India and China. The country is also one of the top 10 largest cane sugar producers in the world. Due to the constantly growing lag between domestic output and consumer demand, reliance on large scale imports from the world market has been unavoidable.
Even after several government plans have been introduced to achieve self-sufficiency in sugar as a means to ensure food security, it seems that the goal is unachievable in the long run.
