"We discussed future steps on how sugarcane growers can make profit and consumers can smile," Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman stated after accompanying the president during the meeting at the State Palace.
Sulaiman noted that the government is considering setting up an independent team to set the reference price of farmers` sugar.
The team will be made up of academics, agricultural experts, and researchers, among others, he added.
Chief of APTRI`s board of patrons, Arum Sabil, remarked that farmers? sugarcane-based sugar industry has not made significant progress because sugarcane farming hardly has economic value.
On average, the price of farmers` sugar sometimes comes close to below the production cost, he revealed.
Sabil explained that he has proposed the government to set a policy to buy sugar from farmers.
"Three months before farmers harvest sugarcane or sugar mills begin to mill sugarcane, the policy must be set to give certainty," he added.
He noted that the president has agreed to announce the policy this month based on the independent team`s findings.
Reporting by Bayu Prasetyo
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
