Prolonged rains may reduce the sugar content in Indonesian cane, leading to a domestic production shortfall this year of around 270,000 tonnes, an agriculture official said on Wednesday. Agus Hasanuddin, director of annual crops at the agriculture ministry told reporters that production could be 2.72 million tonnes this year - about 9 percent below initial targets of 2.99 million tonnes - as rain was still falling ahead of May's crushing season and could lower the sugar content in cane.
This year's white sugar production would still be higher than the 2.62 million tonnes in 2009, he said. The Indonesian Sugar Association said on Monday that cane crushing on Java island, a key sugar-producing region, would be delayed by a month until end May because of earlier dry weather.
Stocks would be sufficient, however, as most imported sugar had arrived and some cane plantations on Sumatra had already started crushing. Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest sugar consumer, has a strictly regulated industry, and the government only allows locally grown product for household consumption.
The country also imports about 2 million tonnes of raw sugar, which is processed by eight local refiners to produce higher-quality white sugar for the food and beverage industry. Hasanuddin said the total area planted with cane this year is forecast to expand to 436,799 hectares, compared to 420,000 hectare in 2009.
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