JAKARTA: Indonesia has issued permits to import 968,143 metric tons of raw sugar in the first quarter of 2016, a trade ministry official said on Friday. The government is currently reviewing how often it needs to issue import permits for raw sugar, said acting director general of foreign trade, Karyanto Suprih.
Previously, the government had said it was planning to issue permits every six months in 2016, to provide more certainty of supply to domestic food industries. “We need to see how this is implemented in the field first,” Suprih told Reuters.
Imports of the sweetener are expected to increase to 3.2 million metric tons this year from 2.88 million metric tons in 2015, an official at the Indonesian Food and Beverage Industries Association said earlier this month.
