Song Con Sugar Corporation: Overcoming difficulties to ensure a successful crushing season.
Despite facing labor shortages and harsh weather conditions, Song Con Sugar Company is focusing on accelerating mechanization and is determined to successfully complete its production plan for the 2025-2026 crop year.
The boost from synchronized mechanization
For the 2025-2026 crop year, Song Con Sugar Company (Nghe An) will begin production amidst many unfavorable circumstances. Right from the start of the season, major floods at the end of 2025 submerged over 1,000 hectares of sugarcane in the raw material area, affecting average yields (expected to reach only about 58 tons/ha).
As the final harvesting phase begins in early March-April 2026, difficulties continue due to a widespread shortage of manual labor in 25 key sugarcane-producing communes. Furthermore, the sudden surge in temperatures in western Nghe An, with intense heatwaves, has directly impacted the health of workers and the progress of transporting sugarcane from the fields to the factories.
Faced with a labor shortage, the company proactively changed its production methods, using mechanization as a "lever." Instead of relying on manual sugarcane cutting, the company signed contracts to bring high-capacity sugarcane harvesting machines into the fields. Currently, with two harvesting machines operating continuously at a capacity of 350-400 tons of sugarcane per day, the pressure on harvesting deadlines in key areas has been resolved.
The "sustainable development" strategy is not limited to harvesting; it is also being realized through the care of the sugarcane for the next crop year, 2026-2027.
The company has implemented training for farmers in local communes on the application of specialized machinery for subsurface plowing, deep fertilization (over 15cm), and weed removal. This technique not only improves the topsoil but also enhances the sugarcane's drought resistance – a key factor in the face of increasingly extreme weather patterns.
Standing alongside farmers
With upgraded processing capacity and production lines, the factory is focusing all its resources on consuming all the sugarcane from the farmers' fields. The application of cleaner production methods, reducing water and chemical consumption, has also helped the company improve the quality of refined white sugar, meeting the stringent standards of the market.
Currently, the atmosphere at the Song Con Sugar Factory remains extremely busy in the post-harvest stages. The entire team of agricultural and technical staff has been mobilized to work directly in the fields to ensure the progress of the work.
This year's sugar production is expected to reach 39,000 tons. The combination of innovative management thinking and the bold introduction of mechanization into production is the solution to the problem of sustainable agriculture. The 2025-2026 crushing season has ended, but the achievements from changing farming methods will be an important foundation for Song Con Sugar Company to continue maintaining its position as a leading sugar cane producer, contributing to the socio-economic development of the western communes of Nghe An province.
