Vietnam's sugar industry is reviving, with sugar productivity rising to the number 1 position in the region for the first time

Vietnam has seen a significant increase in its sugarcane growing area for the 2023/24 crop year, reaching 174,842 hectares, an 11.4% increase from the previous year. The majority of this land (93%) is managed by farmers supplying raw materials to sugar factories. The national sugarcane variety structure is diverse, with 60 varieties including the dominant KK3, and there has been a rise in the planting area of other varieties. The total sugarcane output is projected to reach 11.2 million tons, marking a notable increase from previous years. However, the variety structure is seriously unbalanced with a lack of early and late-ripening varieties, leading to lower sugar recovery rates in factories. Efforts are being made to introduce new varieties and improve mechanization and irrigation techniques, including the use of 4.0 technology solutions and drones for pesticide spraying. Some enterprises are also experimenting with new digital management tools to assist farmers in sugarcane cultivation.