II.
STRATEGY MEASURES FOR NATIONAL
ADAPTATION
Swaziland’s
commercial cane growers, especially those producing over 1,000 tons of sucrose
per annum, have a reputation for efficiency and are well aware of the
challenges facing them. They have been world leaders in sucrose yields per ha
and continue to rank with the best. However, there is a need for them to continually
monitor and improve their effectiveness because given the nearly 30% increase
in national production since 1999 a significant proportion of their production
ends up in the world market. They must now compare their costs to competitors
like Brazil and Australia rather than to those of other ACP countries.
Given
that in the long run Swaziland can be expected to profitably place sugar in the
world market, it would be justified to increase the area in cane. There are
areas readily developable for irrigation into sugarcane. Such are on SNL and
land owned by Tibiyo. Any increase in area by commercial cane growers is
dependent on its coordination with smallholder development schemes. Even
though, in some instances, difficulties are being experienced with cane growing
under smallholder developments, there is indication that cane growing on those
lands can be successful.
To improve competitiveness on
cane growing, the following measures need to be adopted and implemented:
While
sugar factories in Swaziland are able to hold their own with the best, as far
as total sucrose recovery is concerned, they offer considerable room for
improvement. These mainly relate to operating costs. There are two main areas,
in which costs conceivably could be reduced, i.e. personnel and energy. With
the level of installed automation, it should be possible to reduce personnel
costs, which at present constitute a hardly competitive 50% of operating costs.
There also appears to be some room for reducing operating costs through the
elimination or drastic reduction of the consumption of supplementary fuel, i.e.
coal. A careful review of the thermal balance is underway in each of the mills,
as well as trials with substitute fuels, such as baled trash, obtained from
mechanically harvested green cane.
Furthermore,
millers will find it strategic to become decisively involved in getting
economic cane production in the two large irrigation schemes (KDDP and LUSIP).
This goes hand-in-glove with the decision to secure a long-term increase in the
base of cane supply. This will ensure viability of the two irrigation schemes
on one hand, whilst on the other it will allow outsourcing of cane growing away
from the mills – thus promote economic efficiency that goes with
specialisation.
In
addition, millers would now be better placed to force competition – with the
benefits of efficiency and increased productivity – in cane growing,
particularly smallholders.
Measures
Hauling of cane and transportation of sugar are two
significant components of the cost of sugar. Improving maintenance of existing
roads, and expanding the road network, thereby servicing additional
agricultural areas, will greatly contribute to the reduction of the hauling
cost of cane and sugar.
Another area of the road infrastructure improvement
relates to the creation of new service roads between farms and the mills. This
will also include the construction of bridges to shorten the distance between
farms and mills. This will greatly contribute to the reduction of
transportation costs, which have formed a major cost of the sugar industry
especially in the transportation of cane.
An especially problematic issue in hauling export
sugar, as well as other Swazi products, is access to and the efficiency of the
terminal facilities at the port of Maputo. A programme for the upgrading of the
Maputo port terminal is required.
Measures
·
Improve and expand road system, incl.
bridges, to reduce transportation cost
Improve truck unloading facilities at Maputo export terminal