Government sugar manufacturers are gearing up to transform the nation’s sugar landscape driven by instructions from the Parliament Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on Increasing Exports of Goods and Services, Sri Lanka sugar industry sources told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
The SOC on Increasing Exports of Goods and Services had instructed officials of the Sri Lanka Sugar Company to submit an action plan within three months, outlining strategies to boost sugar production in Sri Lanka to align with the country’s economic goals, the sources said. A comprehensive plan will be in motion from now on to elevate sugar production from the current 14 percent to an ambitious 40 percent, they said.
According to the former Chairman of Lanka Sugar Company Ltd., Janaka Nimalachandra, the people of Sri Lanka consume more sugar than the people of any other country. In contrast, the country produces enough sugar to meet a modest 11 to 15 percent of its national sugar needs, cultivating sugar cane on 35,000 acres. Nimalachandra urged a nuanced approach, suggesting a delicate balance between ramping up production and addressing public health concerns associated with excessive sugar consumption, notably the rising cases of diabetes.
The industry is set to focus on cultivating high-yielding sugar cane varieties to increase production. This move, Nimalachandra believes, has already been identified by the sugar industry.
The largest supplier of sugar to the world, India, does not consume that much sugar. Sri Lanka spends more on sugar imports than it spends on medicine imports, he said.
According to Sugar Research Institute sources, local sugar consumption last year (2022) was 538,870 metric tons, of which 460,000 metric tons was imported. The country has spent Rs. 83 billion for sugar imports in 2022.
The sugar factories in Sevanagala, Pelwatta, Hingurana, and Ethimale produced 78,870 metric tons of sugar, accounting for 14.5% of the national requirement.
