Indonesia will tighten controls over ethanol imports, the country’s agriculture minister Amran Sulaiman said on Friday, with the aim of supporting farmers hit by a fall in the price of molasses, a major feedstock.

He did not say when the policy would be implemented.

Indonesia has been seeking to impose a mandatory bioethanol mix for gasoline in order to cut fuel imports and carbon emissions, but it has faced implementation delays because of limited ethanol supplies.
The country’s sugarcane farmers association said the price of molasses has dropped by 60% this year.

Amran said ethanol import curbs would support farmers hurt by the lower prices.

Indonesia had the capacity to produce 303,325 kiloliters (KL) of bioethanol per year in 2024, but output stood at 160,946 KL and imports at 11,829 KL, according to data from Apsendo, an association of Indonesian methylated spirits and ethanol producers.

Domestic demand for bioethanol stood at 125,937 KL last year while exports reached 46,839 KL.

Indonesian state energy company Pertamina had previously said that it would mix more of its gasoline products with imported ethanol in a bid to offer alternative fuels to the public and improve fuel quality.
Source: Reuters