Santander Had a Bumper Year for Sugar Production!
The Santander Sugar Group is reporting a bumper year in sugar cane production. It kicked off the season towards the end of February and today the last truck was escorted to the dumping table to much fanfare as the sugarcane season came to an end at the Santander facility in Valley of Peace. The company says that it was a good year for sugar production, despite the challenges brought on by the drought and seasonal rains. Another hit was the price for sugar on the world market –which according to the Santander Sugar Group – went down by thirty percent because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the media had a look at how Santander closes its season, where the company shared they were able to increase sales, as well as production which was up by thirty-four percent compared to last year. Chief Finance Officer David Rodriguez presented the production numbers.
David Rodriguez
David Rodriguez, C.F.O, Santander Sugar Group
“Our cane growers here in the Cayo district they represent thirty percent of our production. It has been a good year for them also. We have increased our sales by fifty-four percent compared to last year and our volumes of production by thirty-four percent compared to last year. This year, in production and grinding we did six hundred and forty thousand metric tonnes of cane. For us that is a banner year. We are still increasing the areas of planting and we are looking for the next season to be as good as this one.”
Reporter
“What was the quantity of sugar produced from the amount of canes you guys have harvested and grinded?”
Jose Rodriguez
David Rodriguez
“Well, this year, our production of sugar is fifty-six thousand metric tonnes of sugar and we produced twenty-five tonnes of molasses and thirty two point five million kilowatt hours dispatched to the grid of electricity.”
Jose Rodriguez, C.E.O., Santander Sugar Group
“This is a very tough job. It is difficult. It is one hundred and fifty days of harvest non-stop, seven days a week twenty-four hours a day. So, I want to congratulate my team and give them applause because these are the guys that make it happen.”
