Jakarta, Sept 17 - Indonesia plans a temporary cut in import duties for raw and white sugar of 50 percent and 73 percent respectively, in an effort to boost stocks and rein in prices, according to a government document seen by Reuters.
The new import duties will apply to shipments arriving during the period from October to December, according to a letter signed by Bayu Krisnamurthi, deputy to the coordinating minister for the economy, Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
Bayu declined comment when contacted by Reuters, but said: "We are still discussing the plan. We hope to announce it as soon as possible after a decision has been made."
Southeast Asia's largest sugar consumer has been casting about for ways to increase sugar supplies as it struggles to ease a price rise to a record above 11,000 rupiah ($1.14) per kg, fuelled by a global rally in sugar prices.
The document said the government aimed to halve the raw sugar import duty to 400 rupiah per kg from 790 rupiah per kg and cut the white sugar import duty 73 percent to 150 rupiah from 550 rupiah.
Indonesia relies on imported raw sugar to produce high quality refined sugar used in the food and beverage industry but it is scaling back imports of white sugar for direct consumption after local production exceeded demand.
A top industry official said on Wednesday that sugar refiners would get permits to buy an additional 445,000 tonnes of raw sugar this year, a decision that will bring full-year raw sugar imports to 2.25 million tonnes, up from an initial target of 1.67 million. [ID:nJAK534606]
Indonesia relies on imported raw sugar to produce high quality refined sugar used in the food and beverage industry but it is scaling back imports of white sugar for direct consumption after local production exceeded demand.