Mauritius to create 'flexi-factories' to switch between biofuel and sugar production
Mauritius is restructuring its sugar sector by moving towards 'flexi-factories' that can produce sugar and biofuels depending on the market situation and by stepping up exports of premium cane sugars, a senior official said on Friday during a seminar on African business. The move is intended to save the island state's sugar sector, which is feeling the pinch because of the EU's new sugar policy.
Europe has traditionally bought more than 90 percent of the Indian Ocean nation's sugar at guaranteed prices, but Mauritius is set to lose its protection in this market as Europe plans to slash its guaranteed sugar prices by 36 percent between 2006 and 2009 as part of reforms to free the sugar market.
Many developing countries from the APC (Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific) region that used to benefit greatly from the EU's sugar protocol fear that the reform will push them out of business. Thousands of their farmers are preparing to abandon production altogether and a large number of indirect jobs is expected to be lost. But the emerging ethanol sector could come just in time to save this vital industry (earlier post).
Mansoor said that Mauritius had noted the potential of biofuels demand and will try to leverage it to cope with the effects of the new sugar policy. The model to be followed is simple: increase production of cane-derived ethanol fuel at 'flexi-factories' when crude oil prices are high, and increase sugar production when crude prices are low:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: sugarcane :: sugar :: liberalisation :: EU :: Mauritius ::
Factories would also burn sugar processing residue called 'bagasse' as a clean biomass source to generate power, he said. High fossil fuel prices make this feasible.
Mansoor said Mauritius was also responding to the removal of price supports to its sugar industry by producing more top-quality premium cane sugars for export.
The seminar was sponsored by Britain's Department for International Development, Unilever and the World Bank.
It remains to be seen whether the idea of 'flexi-factories' is economically viable. Obviously, when all sugar producers start to reason like this and infrastructures come online, the advantages of the concept could be lost.
The only real hope for the world's sugarcane producers is a free ethanol market and high oil prices. The first factor can be managed - by trying to get developed countries to remove their ethanol tariffs and non-tariff barriers. The latter factor is beyond their control, but as things stand today, it looks like high oil prices are here to stay.
References:
Reuters: Mauritius eyes sugar, biofuel "flexi-factories" - October 12, 2007.
Biopact: Ethanol eases pain of EU sugar reform for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries - April 09, 2007
The way we are going is flexi-factories - depending on the cost of petroleum or sugar, we produce more or less (of either). - Ali Mansoor, Financial Secretary of MauritiusTrade liberalisation and increased competition from other growers pose a huge challenge to Mauritius's sugar sector, which employs around 60,000 people and is the island state's biggest earner of foreign currency.
Europe has traditionally bought more than 90 percent of the Indian Ocean nation's sugar at guaranteed prices, but Mauritius is set to lose its protection in this market as Europe plans to slash its guaranteed sugar prices by 36 percent between 2006 and 2009 as part of reforms to free the sugar market.
Many developing countries from the APC (Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific) region that used to benefit greatly from the EU's sugar protocol fear that the reform will push them out of business. Thousands of their farmers are preparing to abandon production altogether and a large number of indirect jobs is expected to be lost. But the emerging ethanol sector could come just in time to save this vital industry (earlier post).
Mansoor said that Mauritius had noted the potential of biofuels demand and will try to leverage it to cope with the effects of the new sugar policy. The model to be followed is simple: increase production of cane-derived ethanol fuel at 'flexi-factories' when crude oil prices are high, and increase sugar production when crude prices are low:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: sugarcane :: sugar :: liberalisation :: EU :: Mauritius ::
Factories would also burn sugar processing residue called 'bagasse' as a clean biomass source to generate power, he said. High fossil fuel prices make this feasible.
Mansoor said Mauritius was also responding to the removal of price supports to its sugar industry by producing more top-quality premium cane sugars for export.
The seminar was sponsored by Britain's Department for International Development, Unilever and the World Bank.
It remains to be seen whether the idea of 'flexi-factories' is economically viable. Obviously, when all sugar producers start to reason like this and infrastructures come online, the advantages of the concept could be lost.
The only real hope for the world's sugarcane producers is a free ethanol market and high oil prices. The first factor can be managed - by trying to get developed countries to remove their ethanol tariffs and non-tariff barriers. The latter factor is beyond their control, but as things stand today, it looks like high oil prices are here to stay.
References:
Reuters: Mauritius eyes sugar, biofuel "flexi-factories" - October 12, 2007.
Biopact: Ethanol eases pain of EU sugar reform for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries - April 09, 2007
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