The price of white sugar began to rise at the beginning of 2023, reaching a high of 7,600 yuan/ton in September, and then fell slightly during the new crushing season, but still remained at a high level. High sugar prices are opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, this creates conditions for the industry to accelerate transformation and upgrading and cope with future risks and challenges. On the other hand, as rising sugar prices drive up the purchase price of raw materials, the cost pressure faced by sugar companies has also increased.
In 2023, due to factors such as the El Niño phenomenon, global sugar prices have been rising. According to data monitoring by financial data service company Choice, sugar prices began to rise at the beginning of 2023, reaching a high of 7,600 yuan/ton in September, and then fell slightly in the new crushing season, but still remained at a high level.
Experts predict that sugar prices will remain high in 2024. What impact will this have on sugarcane farmers and domestic sugar companies? In this regard, the reporter conducted an interview in Guangxi, my country's main sugar producing area.
For every 3 spoons of sugar in the country, 2 spoons come from Guangxi. As the country's largest sugar planting base and main sugar producing area, Guangxi's sugar cane planting area and sugar output have accounted for about 60% of the country's total for 19 consecutive seasons. It is a veritable "sugar jar". But overall, my country's annual sugar production is about 10 million tons. Currently, production is still in a situation where production exceeds demand and supply exceeds demand. A large amount of sugar is imported from abroad every year.
Luo Shanqian, a major sugarcane grower in Shangluotun, Fuhu Village, Longtou Town, Liucheng County, Liuzhou City, contracted 2,500 acres of cultivated land, with an estimated total output of more than 16,000 tons and a total output value of more than 8 million yuan. "The purchase price of sugar cane in the 2023/2024 crushing season adopts the 'down payment price + secondary linkage price' settlement method for the first time. The purchase price will increase by 20 yuan per ton. As sugar prices increase, the income of sugarcane farmers will increase." Luo Shanqian said.
The reporter saw that the sugar pressing operations of local sugar companies in Guangxi are in full swing. In the 2023/2024 harvest season, Guangxi's sugar production will increase by about 14% year-on-year, and sugar production is expected to increase by 14% year-on-year.
Teng Zhengpeng, secretary of the board of directors of Guangxi Agricultural Investment Sugar Group Co., Ltd., said that sugar prices have been operating at high levels, and the benefits of sugar companies have been greatly improved. With the implementation of the secondary linkage policy on sugarcane purchase prices in Guangxi, the income of growers from sugarcane planting will increase, further increasing the enthusiasm for planting sugarcane. "The four sugar companies affiliated to our company, Mingyang, Daqiao, Lingli, and Dongjiang, have started crushing one after another at the end of November 2023. As of January 31, 2024, a total of 2.37 million tons of sugar cane have been pressed, and a sugar production of 270,000 tons ." Teng Zhengpeng said.
While the rise in sugar prices has helped sugar companies increase sales and revenue, it has also brought certain pressures and challenges to their operations. "The increase in the guidance price for sugarcane purchase also requires the addition of linkage prices. The funds and costs for sugarcane purchase by sugar mills will increase." said Wei Liuheng, director of Guangxi Fengtang Fengshan Sugar Factory.
High sugar prices are opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, this creates conditions for the industry to accelerate transformation and upgrading and cope with future risks and challenges; on the other hand, as rising sugar prices drive up the purchase price of raw materials, sugar manufacturing companies are also facing cost pressures. promote. For sugar companies, they need to reduce costs by increasing sugarcane yields, mechanizing operations, strengthening the comprehensive utilization of by-products, and turning waste into treasure.
It is reported that Guangxi Sugar Industry has broken the constraints of planting conditions in recent years, vigorously promoted the research and development of improved varieties, and formed its own core competitiveness. Currently, Guangxi has registered 50 sugarcane varieties on the China Seed Industry Big Data Platform of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
In 2023, the Chinese Academy of Sciences arranged central funds of 170 million yuan to launch a pilot Class A project to cultivate new high-quality sugarcane varieties in Guangxi, setting a precedent for the country's top scientific research teams to develop sugarcane seeds. With the efforts of scientific researchers, a number of breakthrough excellent varieties have been developed, including Guitang 42, Guiliu 05136, Guitang 44, and Yuetang 00236, which are high-yielding and high-sugar, resistant to drought and lodging, and suitable for mechanical harvesting. At present, the coverage rate of improved sugar cane varieties in Guangxi reaches 98%, of which the coverage rate of self-bred varieties in Guangxi is 89.8%, which has greatly promoted the increase in sugar cane production and efficiency.
It is worth noting that a large part of the cost of sugarcane cultivation is labor harvesting cost, and it is imperative to promote mechanized harvesting. In the 2022/2023 crushing season, the comprehensive mechanization rate of Guangxi sugarcane farming and harvesting is 69.07%, of which the mechanical farming rate is 99.7%, the machine type rate is 66.25%, and the machine harvest rate is 31.03%. Currently, the number of sugarcane combine harvesters has increased from less than 20 units in the 2013/2014 harvesting season to 2,500 units.
"We will work hard to further stabilize and improve sugarcane planting, promote the full mechanization of sugarcane 'cultivation, management, collection and transportation' production, reduce labor costs, improve production efficiency, and promote industry to feed back the high-quality development of agriculture. By promoting good seeds and methods, 'double high' "Measures such as base construction will improve the yield and quality of sugarcane," Wei Liuheng said.
Tong Zheng