Indonesia, July 30 -- Indonesia will tighten controls on refined sugar imports and require importers to develop domestic plantations as it seeks to protect farmers, reform the sugar industry and achieve self-sufficiency within two years, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said.

Speaking in Bandung District, West Java, on Wednesday, Amran said imported refined sugar had flooded the domestic market beyond isolated leakages, depressing prices and undermining the livelihoods of local sugarcane farmers.

"What is happening in the field is that the refinery market is completely flooded. If there is even a small leak, it floods-and sugarcane farmers suffer tremendous losses," Amran said.

The oversupply has also hurt state-owned companies...