Thread: Udon Thani sugar mill closed for exceeding burned sugarcane milling limits

The Ministry of Industry has ordered the immediate closure of a sugar mill in Udon Thani province, after the facility was found to have bought burned sugarcane in excess of the maximum quota of 25% of production capacity.


The power plant of the Thai Udon Thani Sugar Company, which owns the sugar mill, was also closed by the ministry for failing to meet safety standards.


The abrupt closure of the mill in Ban Phue district has resulted in more than 1,200 trucks, laden with both burned and fresh sugarcane, being left unloaded.


Industry Minister Akanat Promphan said today that the Thai Udon Thani Sugar Company had accepted about 400,000 tonnes of burned sugarcane, or 43.11% of the cane for milling.


He claimed that 400,000 tonnes of burned sugarcane does the equivalent environmental damage as the burning of 6,400 hectares of forest.


The Ministry of Industry has discouraged sugarcane farmers from burning their canes, which makes them easier to cut and saves labour costs, but the burning causes air pollution which is harmful to health.


The secretary-general of the Isan Nua Thai Udon-Ban Phue Sugarcane Farmers Association has, however, cried foul over the ministry’s directive limiting burned cane to 25%, claiming that such a limit is unfair to farmers and has resulted in a backlog of unsold burned sugarcane.


He said that the burned sugarcane will rot or lose its sweetness if left unmilled for a long time.


To discourage farmers from burning the cane in the plantations, he suggested that the ministry should set the price of milled fresh sugarcane at least 200-300 baht/ton more than that of burned cane.


According to the Sugarcane and Sugar Committee, 22 of the country’s 58 sugar mills bought less than 10% burned sugarcane, while 32 bought between 10% and 25%. Only 4 bought more than 25%.

Udon Thani sugar mill closed for exceeding burned sugarcane

The abrupt closure of the mill in Ban Phue district has resulted in more than 1,200 trucks, laden with both burned and fresh sugarcane, being left unloaded.

I get the impression a lot of these trucks had already been turned away down south.

I have driven through Ban Phue and back again twice already this year. Another trip is planned for Sunday, we have to visit CWMS's new granddaughter in Tha Bo. But for a couple of kilometres the road is single carriageway all the way and the hordes of sugar trucks in and out of Ban Phue add a whole new level of excitement to the journey. Still, it has to go somewhere.
The question now is where will all this sugar go? The next nearest mill might be the one closer to me in Na Klang, but I understand that some farmers are contracted directly to specific mills, so they'll have a problem. Very unfair for those farmers who did not burn.
FWIW, I have noticed that none of the sugarcane farmers around me have burned their crops this year. Which is a pleasant change.

Sugar cane truck cunts, worse possible sight after a blind turn on a single lane country road..cause where there is one, there is more, many more, cunts

Originally Posted by Bonecollector

Sugar cane truck cunts, worse possible sight after a blind turn on a single lane country road..cause where there is one, there is more, many more, cunts

That area around Ban Phue is positively swarming with the things at this time of year. Plus small operators with tractors and those unregistered 'yitan' and 'taktak' chugging along at walking pace, all dragging piles of sugarcane.
The local roads are single carriageway with plenty of twists and turns. The straight bits are all up an down. All you can see is a bend or the brow of a hill. Which doesn't stop the locals from going for the overtake. Frankly it's surprising that the road isn't littered with smashed up cars.

The one we pass is east of Udon in Ban Ya, but it has cleaned up a lot recently. The dual carriageway they built a few years ago has helped too. Instead of having all that slow moving traffic from everywhere, hindering the flow of traffic, they have meeting points all around where the locals have to cart their stuff and put on big trucks that go to the factory.

I haven't seen that sugar mill smoking like it used to for a couple of years now.

^Yep we saw this in Surin, massive line about 2km long

By chance, I am sitting in Ban Phue, waiting for lunch. The sugar mill is just off the main road, I can't see it from here but there are still trucks full of sugar arriving.