Sugar mills raise sugarcane price to K150,000/tonne for 2023-2024 season

Some sugar mills notified the sugarcane growers that they will hike up the offering price of sugarcane to K150,000 per tonne in the upcoming 2023-2024 sugarcane season.
The sugar mills released a notification last early August stating that the buying price would be K110,000 per tonne of sugarcane for the 2023-2024 sugarcane season. The mills set higher prices to K120,000 per tonne in early October. However, Shwenyaung Myabayin sugar mill raised the price further to K150,000 per tonne, according to its notification released on 2 November.
Additionally, sugar mills are pushing the growers to ramp up per-acre yield and expand the cultivation acres.
The company set the sugarcane floor price at K90,000-100,000 per tonne last season. This year, in addition to the price rise of sugar, the company offers higher prices to deal with high cultivation input costs of the growers and entice them to improve production, sugarcane and sugar businesspersons shared information.
However, the sugarcane growers called for the sugar mills to maximize the offering prices as much as they could amid the rocketing fuel prices and fertilizer prices this year.
Following the soaring sugar price, intending to facilitate sugarcane growers, Ngway Yi Pale Sugar Company informed the growers last year of a subsidy of K200,000 per acre in advance for the 2023-2024 season if they add new acres of sugarcane plantation.
Myanmar’s annual sugar production is estimated at 450,000 tonnes. Myanmar earlier sent sugar to China and Viet Nam beyond self-sufficiency. At present, it is delivered to Viet Nam only, Myanmar Sugar and Cane Related Association said.
Sugarcane is commonly found in the upper Sagaing Region, followed by northern Shan State. It is also found in the western and eastern Bago Region, Yangon Region and Mandalay Region.
The sugarcane is grown in December-January. It can be harvested from November to February of the following years. The sugarcane growing rotation cycle lasts four years in Myanmar. — NN/EM