Indonesia Targets 3 Million Tonnes of Sugar in 2026 to Limit White Sugar Imports

Government sets 3 million-tonne production goal

Indonesia is targeting national sugar production of 3 million tonnes in 2026 as it seeks to meet domestic white sugar demand without imports. Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said the government hoped production would be sufficient to avoid importing white sugar this year, according to ANTARA.

The forecast places domestic supply at the center of Indonesia’s sugar policy. Its achievement will depend on whether improvements in sugarcane farming translate into higher cane volumes and increased output at the country’s mills. The government is therefore combining field rehabilitation, new planting and support for sugar companies rather than relying on a single expansion measure.

Rp1.7 trillion allocated for field rehabilitation

A major part of the program concerns smallholder or plasma sugarcane land. Amran said about 86% of these fields were considered unfit or inadequately managed. President Prabowo Subianto has instructed the Agriculture Ministry to restore neglected smallholder sugarcane areas, while the government has allocated Rp1.7 trillion to clearing and replanting plasma fields.

The scale of the problem makes rehabilitation central to the 2026 target. Bringing poorly maintained land back into productive use could raise yields without requiring all additional output to come from newly acquired acreage. For growers, however, the result will depend on field renewal, crop management and the ability of mills to process the additional cane. Amran said the government was supporting all Indonesian sugar mills and encouraging national producers, including Sugar Group Companies, to increase output.

Lampung becomes a key production area

ANTARA reported that about 30,000 hectares of new sugarcane had already been opened, with the government aiming for a yield of 100 tonnes per hectare. Lampung is expected to play a significant role in the expansion. Heru Tri Widarto, acting director general of plantations at the Agriculture Ministry, said the government was targeting 97,970 hectares of sugarcane plantations in the province by 2027.

At that acreage, Lampung’s sugar production is projected to reach 480,053 tonnes. The government expects the province to produce 250,000 tonnes this year. The gap between those figures shows that the national strategy extends beyond the immediate 2026 objective: it also requires continued acreage development and productivity gains into 2027. If rehabilitation, new planting and mill output advance as planned, Indonesia could reduce its exposure to imported white sugar. If field yields or processing capacity fall short, imports may still be needed to balance domestic consumption. The 3 million-tonne forecast is therefore both a production target and a test of whether public funding can convert underperforming smallholder land into reliable industrial supply.