The re-engineering of the Mauritian sugar industry
| MSI06P4206 | |
| Autrey, L. J. C. | |
| The re-engineering of the Mauritian sugar industry | |
| 28th Conference of the West Indies Technologists : "Initiatives and innovations towards a sustainable future of the sugar cane industry ", Barbados, 14-18 June 2004 | |
| Conference paper | |
| 2004 | |
| En | |
| The Mauritian sugar industry is known to be one of the most efficient at world level. After having been the backbone of the Mauritian economy for at least two centuries, and accounting for 90 percent of the value of exports and 30 percent of the GDP at the country's independence in 1968, the industry has decreased in importance in the following decades due to diversification of the economy in other sectors including textile, tourism and services. Many of these developments have in fact been initiated by the sugar industry from resources obtained from the preferential prices obtained under the Sugar Protocol of the European Union through the Lomé Convention to which has succeeded in 2001 the ACP/European Union Cotonou Agreement. Today, with sugar representing 16 percent of the value of exports and 4 percent of the GDP, the Mauritian sugar industry is at the cross roads. Unless it can bring down its costs of production substantially and make optimum use of the cane biomass, its survival will be at stake. With the prospects that both the prices and the preferential markets will erode in the short term, the government in consultation with all stakeholders has elaborated a Sugar Sector Strategic Plan 2001-2005, which in essence calls for factory centralization, rightsizing of labour force, increased generation of electricity from bagasse, improvement of value-added through co-products development and establishment of a comprehensive Research and Development programme to take full advantage of biotechnology and cane biomass utilization. At mid-term in 2003 the number of factories have been reduced from 14 to 11 and by 2007 it is expected that only seven factories will be in operation. Through a socially acceptable scheme, 8000 workers have opted for voluntary retirement, a major step in the rightsizing of the labour force. The industry's share in the supply of electricity to the national grid will be raised from 43 percent to 71 percent in 2007. The production of special and organic sugars, ethanol, rum from cane juice, and sucro chemicals have been critically examined for value addition. To reduce costs of production or/and enhance productivity, research has been initiated in crop improvement, agronomy, biotechnology, and processes at factory level. To diversify away from sugar, land conversion schemes have also been included in the Strategic Plan to allow the sugar industry to venture into new economic activities like real estate development and tourism. It is expected that at the end of the reform period the sugar cane industry will be transformed into one of renewable biomass which will be highly viable with positive impacts on other spheres of the economy. | |
| SUGAR INDUSTRY REFORM CENTRALIZATION CO-PRODUCTS LABOUR FORCE COGENERATION DIVERSIFICATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT | |
| MAURITIUS | |
| Agricultural Research | |
| 2006-05-19 | |
| En | |
| AUTREY |