Marked progress in sugarcane industry

By L.S.A. Wedaarachchi

[email protected]
 

The rehabilitation of sugarcane plantations and the sugarcane industry has made a remarkable progress. Sevenagala and Palwatta sugar factories were closed for a considerable period due to the opposition by certain parties.

Minister of Supplementary Plantation Crops Development Dharmadasa Banda said that Sri Lanka needs 638,000 MT of sugar which costs Rs. 23 billion per year. “At present Sri Lanka produces nine per cent of the total sugar requirement of the country.

Under the present world trend of using sugarcane to produce ethanol, Sri Lanka, has no alternative but to go for selfsufficency in sugar, and cultivate sugarcane which was successfully cultivated in Uva Province and other agricultural districts, he said.

According to a Ministry project report approved by the Cabinet six sugar factories will be set up in Bibile, Kantale, Siyabalanduwa, Moneragala, Kurunagala and Anuradhapura. The Ministry expects that within five years over 50 percent of the sugar requirement will be met through the implementation of sugarcane cultivation and sugar factory projects.

Secretary of the Ministry Tissa Warnasuriya said that the projects to cultivate sugarcane and rehabilite sugar factories in Higurana and Kantale are in progress according to the stipulated time frame.

Director, sugarcane project Gamini Ratnayaka said that Kantale sugar factory has a capacity to crush 1,200 MT of sugarcane a day while the Bibile sugar factory could crush 4,000 MT - 5,000 MT per day.

The development of sugar cultivation is supported by local investors under the supervision of the government.

Technical assistance will be obtained from foreign experts, he said.

Ethanol, fertiliser, animal food, molases, electricity are by-products of sugarcane.