Indonesia to import corn and raw sugar for industrial use in 2025, in self-sufficiency drive

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia will import 900,000 tonnes of food-grade corn and 3.4 million tonnes of raw sugar in 2025, senior minister overseeing food affairs Zulkifli Hasan said on Monday, adding that the imports were only for industrial raw materials. The announcement comes as Indonesia has set a target to achieve food self-sufficiency in the next four years under President Prabowo Subianto, who took office in October. Zulkifli told reporters that next year there could be only imports of raw materials, not for direct consumption. Indonesia has already said it will not import rice, a staple food in the Southeast Asian country of about 280 million people, next year. However, if imports are necessary, it will likely be a small amount of rice, depending on supplies, Zulkifli said. Indonesia’s rice output is ...