Mill aims for crushing success

Blessings and divine intervention were prayed over the 2016/17 mill season as the Gledhow Mill started crushing sugar cane amid the crippling drought.

The Gledhow and North Coast mill season officially started on Thursday, April 14 with a multi-faith ceremony.

Although crops have been severely reduced by the drought that started in 2014, the Gledhow mill is expected to crush 1.17 million tons of sugar cane to produce roughly 125 000 tons of refined sugar. In a normal season, not affected by drought, the mill would typically produce 190 000 tons of sugar.

Gledhow Sugar Company executive vice-chairman, Paul de Robillard, said the mill’s total production would be boosted by additional raw sugar brought in from the Umfolozi Mill to be refined and sold on the industrial market, increasing the season’s yield to 160 000 tons of high quality refined sugar.

“Crops in the Gledhow Mill area are recovering fast after the late summer and autumn rain that fell,” said De Robillard.

He said with enough moisture and sun between January and March, sugar cane can grow up to 10 tons per hectare per day, adding last-minute tonnage to the crush season.

“Gledhow’s growers have received assistance with ratoon management in the form of fertilizer funding for small scale growers and concessionary funding for commercial growers, helping them produce a better crop.”

De Robillard was hopeful that El Niño would weaken and the area would receive normal autumn and winter rain to keep crops growing.

Further supplementing their income, Gledhow Mill will throughout the season supply Sappi with about 88 000 tons of bone dry bagasse (fibre left over after cane has been crushed and sugar extracted) to make paper.

WATCH: The mill in operation.

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