The Board of Investments said Thursday it approved a P490-million sugar mill project of HDJ Bayawan Agri-venture Corp. after it qualified under the manufacturing activities/agro-processing category in the 2017 Investment Priorities Plan.
The sugar mill is located on a five-hectare area in Barangay Bugay, Bayawan City, Negros Oriental.
The mill has a capacity to process 427,050 50-kilogram bags of raw sugar annually and 7,665 metric tons per year of molasses, a sugar byproduct.
The plant started operating commercially in December 2017 with at least 151 personnel.
“The establishment of the new sugar mill plant will dramatically reduce the cost of transporting sugarcane among farmers within the area by as much as P600 per ton. Farmers will now have greater flexibility on where to send their sugarcanes for milling,” Rodolfo said.
The nearest existing sugar mill sites, before the project was established were 50 kilometers away in Sta. Catalina, Bai City and Kabankalan City and transporting sugarcane to these sites cost P650 per ton.
Sugar is the generic name for sweet, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. There are various types of sugar derived from different sources.
Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose, and galactose. The most widely used sugar which is used in a wide variety of foods is sucrose, commonly known as “table sugar” or “granulated sugar.”
Sugar cane is harvested and stripped of leaves. Its juice is extracted, usually by cutting, crushing or mashing. The juice is then boiled to concentrate it, promoting sugar crystallization. The result of this first boiling is called syrup and has the highest sugar content.
Molasses are created from a second boiling and sugar extraction and has a slightly bitter taste. Sugar by-products such as molasses are commonly used to make rum and are also used to make ethanol for fuel.
Local sugarcane production in July to September 2017 increased 63.5 percent to 783,370 MT from 479,000 MT in the same period last year, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration and Philippine Statistics Authority.
Western Visayas which includes Negros Oriental and Occidental produced over half of the national output with 54.4 percent.
The country’s sugar output reached a record 2.5 million metric tons as of August 2017, surpassing the production target and marked the highest volume in 40 years.
Sugarcane areas reached 419,207 hectares in the recent crop year.
The sugar industry employs around 700,000 workers in 19 sugar-producing provinces in the country, according to the Labor Department.