Indonesia's state procurement agency Bulog said on Wednesday it had secured 20,000 tonnes of white sugar from India for delivery in February. The deal is part of Indonesian plans to import 450,000 tonnes of white sugar this year for household consumption to bridge an anticipated shortfall in domestic production. Bulog has a permit to import 60,000 tonnes of white sugar for this year, but the agency failed to buy any in two previous tenders because of high prices.
Bulog chief Sutarto Alimoeso did not give details of the latest deal, but traders said Indian suppliers offered white sugar at around $740 a tonne, cost and freight basis. Rallies in London and New York sugar futures have dampened interest by Indonesian buyers. Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said on Tuesday that white sugar stocks stood at 800,000 tonnes, sufficient to cover domestic consumption for the next four months and indicating the country would not be in a rush to import the sweetener. Indonesia, south-east Asia biggest sugar consumer, was once the world's second biggest producer.
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