Drought reduced grinding time
With slight decreases in sugar production due to a lower supply of cane, the end of the harvest of the 2020-2021 season has arrived in the six sugar mills established in Jalisco.
Subject to the official closure data, 732,739 tons of sugar were produced in Jalisco, compared to 871,000 in the 2019-2020 season.
The drop in the fall of cane milling and sugar production was offset by a good price in the sugar market, which is in favor of producers, according to the head of the sugarcane production chain of SADER Jalisco, Gerardo Medina Chávez.
He said that the early closure of the harvest occurred because there was less cane than expected, which, although it brought less raw material, had its favorable side in saving production costs for entrepreneurs.
He added “There will be less volume in the production of sugar, having less income. It is relative, a saving will be generated in the processing, but there will be a deficit in production according to what was previously estimated.”
In this regard, he said that the official numbers reveal reductions in the milling of sugarcane in the six mills of the entity that represent the factories of Ameca, Autlán, Bellavista, Casimiro Castillo, Tala and Tamazula.
Among the relevant data of the harvest of the season ending, the most productive mills in their field yields are Melchor Ocampo (Autlán) and Tamazula, with parameters of 101 and 91.4 tons of cane per hectare, respectively.
Regarding the production by volume of sugar, the José María Martínez de Tala mill was the factory with the highest sugar tonnage, accumulating 184,800 tons, which was a 15% decrease in relation to the harvest of a year ago.
Tamazula and the Impact of the Drought
The sugarcane leader of the ejido sector in the Tamazula sugar mill, Antonio Ramírez Amezcua, pointed out that the last rainy season was very scarce, since it started late (almost at the end of June 2020,) and finished at the end of August. He explained that despite this there were acceptable yields, which is the result of the advance in modernization on several fronts, such as the fertilization package that has been very efficient.
However, he said, there were drops in general field performance, a reduction of 5%, according to official data.
He added that it is favored that in their ejido sugarcane lands currently cultivated, 98% of the surface is irrigated, with which it is expected to ensure greater productivity of the cultivation of the grass.
THE DATA
Official data for the sector originate from CONADESUCA, National Committee for the Development of the Sugar Industry.
Sugarcane areas industrialized by mills include: Tala (20,633 hectares), Tamazula (14,130), Ameca (12,518), Autlán (11,518), Bellavista (8,259) and Casimiro Castillo (9,638).
Jalisco is the state with the second most sugar production, only surpassed by Veracruz. Between the two states, 50% of the country's sugar production is contributed.
Sugar Cane Harvest