Pelwatte:
handling challenges of a sugar producer
From Quintus Perera at the Pelwatte township
Pelwatte Sugar Industries Ltd (PSIL) together with
Sevanagala Sugar Industries Ltd could produce almost 70 percent
of the country's alcohol (molasses) requirements if sales are guaranteed
and proper government support is forthcoming.
Mahendra
Amarasuriya, PSIL Chairman says that while over 50 local customers
accept produce from Pelwatte Sugar Distilleries (Pvt) Ltd, a PSIL
subsidiary, the country's largest consumer of alcohol buys just
a little and imports the rest saying local alcohol is inferior.
He
declined to name the company but it's well known that Distilleries
Co. of Sri Lanka led by business tycoon Harry Jayawardene is the
biggest manufacturer of alcohol.
Alcohol
molasses, a by-product of the cane sugar production, must be utilized
on a continuous basis or disposed of either by exporting or by environment
friendly affluent disposal requiring substantial investment. Amarasuriya
said that they have received some export orders to sell part of
their alcohol.
Pelwatte
Sugar is not just a plantation and a factory but a complete agricultural
settlement and a township complete with everything a modern town
requires. Communications, transport, schools, medical centres and
everything needed by the settlement is provided by PSIL.
The
town is located in the Monaragala district, about 275 km off Colombo.
A team of The Sunday Times FT drove through this bustling panoramic
economic zone some weeks back, looking at the economic nucleus of
the district. PSIL provides employment for 1,500 local people and
another 4,000 finds part-time seasonal work while as many as 100,000
people find indirect employment.
Sugar
and molasses are not the only products from sugar cane. Using bagasse,
Pelwatte produces 3.5 MW of electricity and plans are afoot to produce
around 25 MW. The company has already done the feasibility studies.
Out of the 25 MW, five would be used for domestic purposes such
as for the factory and the settlement and the balance sold to the
national grid.
Amarasuriya,
in an interview in Colombo, said that in Sri Lanka to produce one
kilo of sugar the cost is around Rs 31. However sugar market prices
are not determined by local costs of production but by the imported
price and on many occasions the Sri Lankan producer is compelled
to sell below cost. He said that for the last two years PSIL operated
at a considerable loss.
He
said that if the Hingurana and Kantale factories are also revived,
all the four factories together could meet 50 percent of the local
consumption by 2008 compared to 15 percent now. If sugar cultivation
is expanded to areas like Hambantota and Matara districts there
is a possibility of Sri Lanka becoming self-sufficient in sugar
by 2012.
The
Pelwatte company, in a complex covering an extent of 12,200 hectares,
manages the plantation and industry and looks after the needs of
the settlers. Y. Thilakasena, Chief Executive Officer, explained
that they are now looking out for land to expand cultivation and
to supplement the irrigation facilities. He said cane growers are
given all the facilities and assistance such as loans, fertilizer
and also advice. Seed cane grown under strict research conditions
are provided to the growers.
The
area has also been developed as a tourist destination. The superbly
kept restaurant serves delicious Sri Lankan food. Small groups could
now be provided accommodation to stay on holiday. In the middle
of every irrigation tank there is an island built from the sand
dredged to deepen it. Cabanas or chalets are built on all these
islands and the surroundings are nicely planted with various trees,
foliage and flower plants.
There
are several ancient tanks that have been revived and new ones have
been built. M V M Champika Damayanthie, wife of sugar cane farmer
Wasantha Premaratne said that they came to Pelwatte in 1992 - from
a nearby village - and have been growing sugar cane on 4.5 acres.
They have raised two children and with their savings have begun
constructing their house. They have also started a small shop. "This
life is much better than before when we were chena cultivators,"
she said. Another settler W M U Ariyadasa also came to Pelwatte
in 1992 and cultivates the same extent of land. The company has
built 645 houses for settlers.
Thilakasena
said the factory works 210 days per year and during the off season
the entire machinery is dismantled and overhauled with wasted parts
being replaced and larger machines installed to prepare for the
next season. The additional investment to install new machinery
is in the range of Rs 65 million.
It
was in 1978 that the World Bank during a survey found Monaragala
district ideal for sugar cane cultivation with Pelwatte being the
best area for this. The survey also found that with proper management
and correct planting process Sri Lanka could be self sufficient
in sugar. Pelwatte Sugar Co Ltd was incorporated in 1981, converted
to a public company the following year and quoted on the Colombo
Stock Exchange in 1984. |