Sugarcane productivity grows in South Africa

With a sugarcane harvest projected at 18.5 million metric tons and a production area of 352.5 thousand hectares, South Africa is expected to record a productivity of 74 tons per hectare in the 2023/24 harvest, representing a increase of 7.24% compared to the 2021/22 harvest and 4.22% over the 2022/23 harvest, points out a report from the USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture. The South African country has been seeking to increase income from the crop, especially with small producers. And given the increases in the amount of cane delivered to industrial plants and the efficiency of the plants, raw sugar production is expected to grow 9% in the 23/24 harvest to 2.2 million metric tons, according to the USDA. Technical mission To get a closer look at planting areas, production management, drip irrigation, harvesting, equipment and facilities at sugar and alcohol plants, a technical mission visited the country and the region of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, on the border ...