The share of mills in the private sector is likely to grow if the industry expands as the Government envisages, and if measures are implemented to close antiquated publicly-owned small capacity mills in Java. The efficiency of the small factories is generally relatively low, particularly with regard to the sugar extraction rate. Many countries achieve recovery of over 85 percent of sugar, while Indonesia obtains about 83 percent or less. By 2005 further sugar processing facilities are planned to bring total production to over 3 million tonnes. The first refinery began operation in mid-1997.
Raw sugar is supplied by Australia, Thailand, Fiji and South Africa.
The population of Indonesia is young and growing rapidly. Average growth since 1970 has been around 2.0 percent annually though rates have slowed in the latter part of this period. Income has also risen rapidly. Since 1970, total real GDP grew by more than 7 percent annually, and on a per caput basis by 5 percent. These factors have led to a strong growth in the use of many consumer products, including sugar and items containing sugar, such as confectionery and beverages.