INDONESIAN SUGAR OUTPUT SEEN SHORT OF TARGET
Indonesia's raw sugar output is likely
to be 1.8 mln tonnes in calendar 1987, unchanged from 1986 and
below the government's 1987 forecast of 2.5 mln, the U.S.
Embassy said in its agricultural outlook for 1987.
    Indonesia bought 162,500 tonnes of raw sugar on world
markets in late 1986, the report said.
    The embassy estimated Indonesia's calendar 1986 raw sugar
production at 1.8 mln tonnes, against a government estimate of
1.99 mln.
    It said that Indonesia's move into sugar self-sufficiency
in 1984 may have been short-lived.
    The report said, "The government continues to promote
sugarcane production through its smallholder intensification
program and a relatively high guaranteed price to sugarcane
producers.
    "However, there are considerable indications that farmers
are reluctant to plant cane because its economic return is not
as good as that of other crops."
 REUTER
