Song Con Sugar Corporation is preparing to enter the new crushing season of 2025-2026.
This coming December, Song Con Sugar Company will begin its new crushing season for 2025-2026. Along with completing the preparations for operation, the factory requests that sugarcane farmers strictly adhere to harvesting regulations; paying particular attention to controlling white cottony mealybugs to ensure sugarcane quality and maintain productivity.
A difficult sugarcane harvest
The areas along the Con River are known as traditional sugarcane growing regions, where farmers have been involved with sugarcane cultivation for decades. Sugarcane farming not only helps alleviate poverty, but many households have also become relatively well-off.
However, this year's weather has been unfavorable, with frequent storms affecting large areas of sugarcane along the Con River.
According to data from Song Con Sugar Company, the historic floods at the end of July and beginning of October this year submerged 1,058 hectares of sugarcane, of which 749 hectares were completely submerged and 185 hectares were flattened. Following the floods, high humidity led to a large number of white mealybugs appearing, threatening sugarcane yields.
In response, the company collaborated with the government and farmers to implement a series of comprehensive solutions: supplying safe pesticides, organizing training for farmers, using drones for spraying, and encouraging the application of biological control methods to limit pests in the long term.
Faced with this difficulty, the company implemented various measures to prevent lodging and drain water, such as removing dry leaves, tying sugarcane into clumps, clearing embankments, unclogging ditches and furrows, and sending agricultural officers to directly assist farmers. Solutions for sugarcane care were utilized to provide timely guidance on how to handle sugarcane fields before and after the storm. The company instructed farmers to supplement potassium and bio-fertilizers, and spray root-stimulating agents to increase resilience.
In particular, farmers are advised to take preventive measures against root rot and leaf blight in prolonged wet conditions. These solutions contribute to the rapid restoration of growth, protecting the yield and quality of sugarcane.
In addition to immediate measures, the company is also strengthening inspections of each growing area, assessing the extent of damage to develop appropriate support plans, especially for low-lying sugarcane fields prone to waterlogging. Many post-flood care models have been piloted, helping farmers improve the recovery of their sugarcane crops. Sharing experiences on field management, pruning, nutrient balance, and pest and disease monitoring is being carried out more frequently to minimize yield losses in the context of increasingly unpredictable climate change.
According to data from Song Con Sugar Corporation, this year's heavy rain and storms are expected to reduce sugarcane yields compared to the previous season (an average of 58 tons/ha), resulting in a decrease in raw sugarcane production.
Signing a transportation contract for the new season.
To prepare for the new crushing season, Song Con Sugar Corporation has proactively mobilized its team of workers and engineers to focus on maintaining, servicing, and repairing the entire system of machinery and production lines, ensuring stable operation at a capacity of 3,300 tons/day.
Mr. Nguyen Ba Quy, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Deputy Director of Song Con Sugar Company, said: The factory is currently in the process of completing equipment and conducting trial runs, while also adding several production lines to improve product quality and meet market demands. Simultaneously, the company is contracting transportation services to bring sugarcane from the fields to the factory; coordinating with local authorities in the raw material areas to repair and upgrade internal field roads, ensuring smooth harvesting and transportation for the upcoming crushing season. Dozens of trucks have been contracted to transport sugarcane regularly each season.
Currently, the factory has not announced the purchase price of raw sugarcane, but with the goal of mutual benefit for both the enterprise and sugarcane growers, the factory will offer the most suitable price, even though the market price of sugar is not yet stable. Along with the pricing policy, we also effectively implement the sugarcane harvesting and delivery schedule to ensure convenience for sugarcane sellers. In the raw material area investment program, the factory plans which areas to plant first and which areas to plant later, according to the harvesting plan, to ensure a harmonious balance of interests between the enterprise and farmers.
Mr. Nguyen Ba Quy - Chairman of the Board of Directors, Deputy Director of Song Con Sugar Company Limited.
As in previous years, during this year's crushing season, Song Con Sugar Corporation continues to bring sugarcane harvesting machines to serve farmers. The increased mechanization in the harvesting process significantly reduces manual labor, saves costs for farmers, shortens harvesting time, ensures timely supply of raw materials to the factory, and improves production efficiency throughout the entire sugarcane growing region.
Representatives from Song Con Sugar Company stated that although the sugarcane is currently in its heading stage, due to the heavy rainfall this year, white cottony aphids are still appearing sporadically in some areas. The company advises farmers that, as the sugarcane harvest period extends from December this year to April next year, they should regularly inspect their fields, remove and clear old leaves to allow the sugarcane to absorb sunlight, and closely monitor pest and disease developments to detect and treat them promptly. If white cottony aphids develop and spread, it will reduce sugarcane quality, affect sugar content, and cause damage to ratoon sugarcane in the following season.
Therefore, proactive inspection and proper pest control techniques are essential to ensure productivity and production efficiency. In addition, Song Con Sugar Company advises farmers to strictly adhere to their production contracts with the factory, avoid selling sugarcane to other places, ensure stable output, and benefit long-term from reasonable purchase prices.
With the sugarcane harvest approaching, the factory has fully prepared its equipment, maintained its production lines, and developed a detailed production plan. Along with close cooperation and adherence to contracts from sugarcane growers, every stage from harvesting to transportation is ensured. With this thorough preparation, it is hoped that the new crushing season will proceed smoothly, achieving high yields and quality, while providing stable benefits for farmers and ensuring a consistent supply of raw materials for the factory throughout the season.
