Workers and farmers to benefit financially:

Local sugar industry nets Rs 1.34 billion profit

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The two state-owned sugar factories at Sevanagala and Pelwatte earned a net profit of Rs. 1.34 billion within two years, Sugar Industry Development Minister Lakshman Senewiratne told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

The Sugar Industry Development Ministry has decided to disburse Rs.297 million, which is 20 percent of the total profit among the workers and farmers of the two sugar factories.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will distribute the profits among them at a ceremony on April 9. This is the first time the workers and farmers engaged in sugar-based farming and industry will benefit financially.

The Pelwatte Sugar Industries Limited and Sevanagala Sugar Industries Limited were taken over by the Government in September 2011, under the “Revival of Underperforming Enterprises or Underutilized” Act No.43 of 2011, the Minister said.

When he assumed duties at the Ministry in 2011, only four percent of the total sugar requirement was produced locally. At present, the Ministry has increased it to 10 percent. It has also drawn up plans to reach the 50 percent target in self-sufficiency in sugar during the next seven to 10 years. Since setting up the Sugar Industry Development Ministry, local sugar production has increased by 40 percent.

“When the Government took over the Sevanagala and Pelwatte industries they were running at a loss. However, we revamped them and earned a net profit of Rs. 1.34 billion within two years. The Ministry couldn’t fulfill this task alone. I should thank the President because this is his concept. When I assumed office, the President advised me to be innovative and safeguard the interests of sugarcane farmers and workers. Hence we have realised the President’s targets,” he said.

The country’s annual sugar consumption is nearly 650,000 metric tonnes. Annually Rs. 55 billion is spent on sugar imports. Therefore, the aim of the Ministry is to produce at least 700,000 metric tonnes of sugar locally and save Rs.70 billion in foreign exchange by 2019, the Minister said.