After the disruptions seen in the harvest that was supposed to start in Ecuador at the beginning of last June, but in some mills started a month later, the sugar industry reported that imports of white sugar will continue “according to the development of events”. This is to maintain the supply of the market and mitigate the shortfall in production caused by the heavy rains of recent weeks and the increasingly long winter.

This was announced by the National Federation of Sugar Producers of Ecuador (Fenazúcar). The union represents six factories operating in the country: Compañía Azucarera Valdez; San Carlos Agricultural and Industrial Society; Agroazúcar Ecuador (La Troncal Sugar Mill); Monterrey Sugar Lojana (Malca); Northern Sugar Factory (Iancem); and San Juan, which border production of about 500,000 metric tons of sugar annually, but did not say how much sugar the factories have imported to date. Compañía Azucarera Valdez alone, for example, was forced to import 10,000 tons of white sugar from Peru and Colombia to supply the market after a shortfall in production due to a one-week delay in sugar cane harvesting.

According to the company’s estimates, 80,000 50-kilogram bags of sugar ceased production that week; and every day of downtime means not cutting 9,000 tons of sugar cane.

Valdez stops the harvest because of the rains that make production in Ecuador intermittent like 26 years ago, also because of the weather

According to the latest official data, in general, the value of sugar cane production is 196 million dollars, and the supply of sugar contributes 396 million dollars. In addition, the employment created in the sugarcane value chain, for sugar, exceeds 38,000 direct and 150,000 indirect, that is, 208,000 families or 750,000 people benefit.

In addition, in a normal context, Ecuador has production surpluses that allow it to export sugar. According to the latest data from the Central Bank, in 2022 sugar exports reached 23 million dollars.

At the same time, the union says, the import of sugar is one of the two actions that the factories have taken in order to face the atypical situation. Another of these strategies, when weather conditions allow it, is to intensify the harvest, in order to process as much raw material as possible in the shortest possible time, since this year’s harvest is expected to take place with interruptions and production to level off. they are not the same as those of previous years, warned Fenazúcar.

As for imports, the trade union assures that these operations are carried out with the authorization and coordination of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), and exclusively for the purpose of covering the deficit and achieving stocks.

“These two actions will reduce the risk of sugar shortages and avoid speculation. It should be noted that the sugar mills have the knowledge, infrastructure, logistics and distribution channels to ensure that the product reaches consumers and the industry without problems,” assured Fenazúcar.

Reduction in sugar supply in some supermarkets contributes to the delay of the start of the harvest in 2023, prices have not increased

As for the Ecuadorian highlands, the two sugar factories in this region, Monterrey Azucarera Lojana and Ingenio Azucarero del Norte, are currently developing their production normally, although they are being monitored for possible climate impacts that could appear in the near future.

“We reiterate that the sugar industry is ready and united to meet national demand. The determination of our industry is to preempt unexpected climatic situations and satisfy domestic consumption, while ensuring that this situation affects our partners, sugar cane growers and workers as little as possible,” the union concluded.