Limelight of Vietnamese Sugar Industry

Powered by modern technology and large material area, Societe de Bourbon Tay Ninh (SBT) is one of typical sugar producers in Vietnam.

Close with sugarcane growers

The vicious circle of growing and felling sugar canes seems to lengthen as prices of rubber or cassava are rising. To prevent the growing area from shrinking to ensure input materials for its factories, the Board of Directors of SBT has taken practical measures to support farmers. Apart from supporting finances, crops, fertilisers, watering and techniques, the company also set the floor purchasing price to assure farmers when the market price of sugar slumps. When canes are infected with diseases or torn down by pests, the company will provide free supports for farmers and help them arrange debts. To expand the area, SBT also lends excellent farmers to rent its land to grow sugar canes. The company has also built 10 farming service stations and each controller of these stations must be brilliant at dealing with sugar cane-related matters.

Thanks to its farmer supporting policy, the company still made positive business result in a tough time as in the 2009-2010 crop when producers had to compete with prices to purchase materials. The sugar cane output increased 29 percent and the growing area expanded 25 percent the 2009-2010 crop. In 2009, the company’s net profit rose 257.6 percent year on year and equalled 206.8 percent the earnings plan.

Continuous technological improvement

SBT owns a sugar refinery powered by European technologies and rated the most modern in Southeast Asia. The facility has a designed processing capacity of 8,000 tonnes of sugar canes a day, or 1.2 million tonnes a year. SBT also inherits the 60-year experience of its parent company – the Bourbon Group of France.

These strengths help SBT to turn out natural refined sugar product lines of high quality and uniqueness. Currently, SBT has two main product lines: Bonsu-branded high-grade refined sugar for consumers and refined sugar used as inputs for industrial consumers like pharmaceutical, drink and food producers.

Although it currently owns the most modern sugar production facility, SBT never stops renovating technology to upgrade product quality and minimise losses to cut production costs. Remarkably, SBT’s two electric turbines are capable of generating 24,000 kWh of electricity, of which 9,000 kWh is used for its production facilities and 15,000 kWh is sold to the Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN). The power generators, which run on bagasse, are a big source of income for SBT.

Existing concerns

Ms Pham Thi Thu Huong, General Director of Bourbon Tay Ninh Corporation, said: Apart from maintaining the growing area and applying productivity and quality-boosting solutions, SBT always sets store by expansion of cane cultivating area.

Sugar producers in Tay Ninh province pledged to apply consistent investment policies and arrange purchasing prices to get rid of overvaluing input materials in case of short supply. But, this promise is still broken when the sugar price increases in the time of material shortage. For instance, in the 2009-2010 crop when buyers from Mekong Delta provinces came to Tay Ninh purchase sugar canes at higher prices. In addition to making farmers know that Bourbon Tay Ninh and other sugar producers in Tay Ninh province have spent much effort and capital to have the current material zone and have stood ready to support farmers to deal with price slumps or disease outbreaks, local authorities need to give more active supports to sugar cane growers to fulfil their commitments to sugar producers as the operations of sugar companies directly affect tax collections of the locality.

Ms Huong said: According to the company’s development orientation, apart from exerting its forces to accelerate the completion of Bourbon An Hoa industrial garden and seeking partners to carry out a commercial and service centre in Tay Ninh town, SBT attaches importance to expand its sugarcane material areas to Binh Phuoc province and neighbouring Cambodia.VCCI

Tags: Vietnam sugar, Vietnam sugar industry