Indonesia's sugar use growing 10 percent

Raw sugar consumption in Indonesia's food and beverage industries will climb by 10 percent annually for the next five years, an industry group said on Monday, as the country's booming population boosts domestic demand. This year, industry's sugar use in Southeast Asia's largest consumer of the sweetener will be 2.5 million tonnes, up 19 percent from 2011, Adhi Lukman, chairman of the Indonesian Food and Beverage Industries Association (GAPMMI), told Reuters.
"The food industry is growing, with beverage growth higher than food," said Lukman. "Companies are happy with the Indonesian domestic market because it is quite big for the ASEAN region, with 240 million people." Overall consumption in the country with the world's largest Muslim population will rise 4 percent to 5.2 million tonnes this year, with household and direct usage at 2.7 million tonnes, Lukman added. Domestic sugar output will be flat at 2.2 million tonnes this year, meeting just half the country's needs, with the shortfall likely to be filled by imports from Thailand, Brazil or Australia, he said.