Cassava knocking out sugar refineries

The area for growing cassavas has been expanding continuously, while the area for growing sugar cane has been reduced. As a result, sugar refineries are seriously lacking production materials.

Farmers chop down sugar cane to grow cassava

For the last 37 years, Quang Ngai province has been considered the “sugar cane metropolis” of the central region. However, farmers in Quang Ngai province do not grow sugar cane any more, but cassavas instead. Cassavas can bring higher profits than sugar cane. The area for growing sugar cane has been reduced gradually in the central province.

Currently, dozens of intermediary merchants are competing fiercely with cassava processing plants to collect cassava from farmers. Plants are purchasing fresh cassava from farmers at 1800 dong per kilo, and merchants have also raised the purchase price to 1800 dong per kilo. Cassava slicing machines have been running day and night, while merchants have been going to every corner in villages and communes to collect cassavas.

As the demand for cassava has increased, farmers have given up sugar cane farming and shifted to growing cassavas. In Tinh Tan Tay commune in Son Tinh district, which had been well known as a sugar cane area, 2/3 of the sugar cane plants have been chopped down to make way for cassava cultivation. People in the commune now rush to sell cassavas to merchants, though the harvest will only come in two months.

Nguyen Thi Hai, a farmer in Tinh An commune, said that last year, she sold fresh cassava at 400,000-500,000 dong per ton, while she now can sell it at 900,000 per ton. If she sells dried cassavas, she will get 1.8 million dong per ton. Hai said that farmers can have two cassava crops a year, while they do not need to spend much time to take care of the cassava fields. Meanwhile, sugar cane only has one crop a year, while the price of a ton of sugar cane is lower at 700,000-750,000 dong per ton.

Since the profits brought in by cassavas are double those of sugar cane, farmers have rushed to grow cassavas. As a result, sugar refineries have been seriously lacking sugar cane to process, while cassava processing plants have been enlarging.

According to Le Tuan Toan, Deputy General Director of Quang Ngai Farm Produce and Food Company, the company now has five cassava processing plants, including two in Quang Ngai, one in Phu Yen, one in Dak To, and one in Tay Ninh province. A bio-fuel plant that makes fuel from sliced cassava is now under construction in Quang Ngai province.

The inevitable consequences

The sugar cane shortage has become so serious that in the last few years, sugar refineries in Quang Ngai province have had to stop production early by 2-3 months.

In order to settle the problem, sugar refineries have been trying to encourage farmers to expand the area used for growing sugar cane, while also providing new sugar cane varieties that can bring higher yields. However, the situation still has not yet improved. In the 2009-2010 crop, the area for growing sugar cane was reduced by 300 hectares to 4800 hectares, while sugar cane material output was only 179,000 tons.

According to Pho Phong Sugar Refinery of the Quang Ngai Sugar Company, the refinery is lacking 50 percent of the needed materials. Therefore, from the 2010-2011 crop, Quang Phu Sugar Refinery will stop production, while the refinery’s equipment will be transferred to An Khe Sugar Refinery in Gia Lai province.

With the move, Pho Phong refinery will take over the material area of Quang Phu refinery. Meanwhile, the production capacity of An Khe refinery will increase when it receives the production lines from Quang Phu refinery, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2011. Dau tu

Tags: Vietnam Cassava, Vietnam sugar