Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company: Efforts to apply science in production
Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company (Tan Ky district, Nghe An province) has been a stable and sustainable sugarcane producer for decades. Currently, the Company is still persistent in expanding the area of raw materials and applying advanced science and technology in production.
Expanding raw material area
Realizing the importance of raw material areas for production activities, Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company has actively coordinated with local authorities and farmers to expand sugarcane growing areas.
As of the 2024-2025 crop year, the Company's total raw sugarcane area will reach nearly 6,000 hectares, mainly concentrated in Tan Ky, Yen Thanh, Do Luong, Nam Dan and Anh Son districts.
In Giai Xuan commune, Tan Ky district, the sugarcane growing area has increased to 900 hectares, the highest ever. The increase in area shows the trust of farmers in sugarcane and shows the effective relationship between the factory and farmers.
Mr. Vu Ngoc Son - Chairman of Giai Xuan Commune People's Committee said: "Sugarcane is the main crop in Giai Xuan Commune. The commune has established cooperatives specializing in growing sugarcane to ensure service stages". In Giai Xuan, Tan Long, Nghia Dong communes (Tan Ky), intensive sugarcane cultivation achieves a yield of 120 - 140 tons/ha.
Application of science and technology
Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company is always a pioneer in applying technical advances in production to improve productivity and quality of sugarcane.
The company has invested in mechanization of land preparation, sugarcane care and harvesting. The use of new machines in cultivation and care not only reduces labor for farmers but also increases sugarcane efficiency. The company has used modern pesticide sprayers with a spray range of up to 150 meters, capable of spraying 18 - 20 hectares per hour to prevent pests. Modern sprayers have helped control pests on a large scale, ensuring the health of workers by limiting direct contact with chemicals.
When harvesting sugarcane, the Company uses sugarcane harvesting machines made in India, with a capacity of harvesting 15 - 20 tons of sugarcane per hour, helping to shorten the harvesting time and transport sugarcane to the factory 2 - 3 hours after cutting the sugarcane, ensuring the quality of raw materials. The cost of harvesting by machine is considered reasonable, about 170,000 VND/ton, which is the optimal solution in the context of labor shortage.
In particular, Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company has introduced new sugarcane varieties such as KK3 and LK9211, which have the advantages of being disease-free, drought-resistant, tall, thick and high in sugar content. Thanks to that, the average sugarcane yield has reached 60 tons/ha, with some plots reaching 120 - 140 tons/ha.
The company cooperates with localities to build concentrated sugarcane fields, each field has an area of 50 hectares or more, in the communes of Giai Xuan, Tan Xuan, Nghia Hoan, Nghia Dong. The accumulation of land creates favorable conditions for mechanization and increases sugarcane productivity, reaching an average of 70-80 tons/ha, the highest in the province.
Mr. Nguyen Ba Quy - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company said: "We highly appreciate the compliance with the intensive sugarcane growing process of the majority of farmers in Tan Ky district, from selecting new varieties, applying advanced farming methods to using appropriate fertilizers and pesticides. Thanks to that, sugarcane productivity in Tan Ky district has been increased, we always accompany farmers in Tan Ky district in applying science and technology and commit to continue to support and train to further improve the efficiency of sugarcane for mutual benefit.
Flexible purchasing policy, timely payment
To ensure the rights of sugarcane growers, Song Con Sugarcane Joint Stock Company has implemented a flexible and transparent purchasing policy.
In the 2024-2025 crop year, the Company will purchase sugarcane at a price of VND 1,180,000/ton at the field, including a support of VND 50,000/ton for loading sugarcane onto trucks and VND 30,000 for households harvesting sugarcane at the beginning of the season. Sugarcane is paid immediately even though there are times when sugar inventory is large.
In addition, the Company also supports farmers in providing good seeds, sugarcane planting and care techniques, road repairs, fertilizer loans, land improvement costs... This support helps farmers feel secure in production and stick with sugarcane for a long time.
Global sugar production in 2024/25 is expected to increase by 1.4% year-on-year to a record 186.024 million tonnes, according to a report by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, sugar consumption is also expected to increase by 0.8% to 178.788 million tonnes, resulting in a 4.7% decline in ending inventories to a 13-year low of 38.339 million tonnes.
According to another analysis by InvestingHaven, sugar prices have the potential to increase by 60% in the next 12-18 months, with prices possibly reaching from 18 cents to 36 cents per pound. Therefore, the Sugar industry in 2025 still has development prospects, the most important of which are drought prevention and control, improving sugarcane productivity as well as trade policies of some countries.
