Sugar Production of PTPN X Declines

Kediri, E Java (Antara) - State plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara X (PTPN X) said its sugar production declined to 482,000 tons in 2013 from 494,000 tons in 2012. A company's director Tarsisius Sutaryanto blamed the climate for the lower than expected performance, saying drought was followed with too much rain. "The management hopes to see a better performance next year," Tarsisius said in the village of Truning on Saturday, where he attended a tree planting ceremony, in the regency of Kediri, East Java. Milling season will start in June until November, 2014 when normally there are less rainy days that the sucrose content would be higher, he said. In 2014, the company hopes to produce more than 500,000 tons of sugar, he said. "We have used high yield variety of sugarcane seedlings and irrigation system has been improved," he said. The sucrose content of sugarcane is expected to reach 8.39 percent or a little higher than in 2013, he added. He said the company has no plan yet for expansion of plantations, adding the company chose to improve the productivity of the existing plantations. He said the performance of some plantations such as in Madura was still below target in productivity. Irrigation systems still need improvement in some of its plantations such as in Sidoarjo, near its factory, he said. (*)