Universal Robina Corp. (URC) is acquiring the idle sugar milling machinery and equipment of Central Azucarera Don Pedro Inc. (CADPI).
The parties did not disclose the amount of the transaction.
URC said in a statement yesterday these assets will be used to expand the capacity and improve the sugar recovery process at its sugar mill in Balayan, Batangas.
The new machinery and equipment from CADPI, a subsidiary of listed firm Roxas Holdings Inc. that has permanently shut down its milling operations, will bring up the Balayan mill’s capacity from about 5,000 metric tons (MT) to 8,000 MT a day, the company added.
URC said the move will also accommodate more sugarcane farmers at its Balayan mill to help secure a source of livelihood and ensure ample sugar supply for consumers while also cutting the time needed to expand its existing mill from four to two years.
“The farmers are currently suffering from low sugar recovery on their sugarcane deliveries due to long waiting time in the truck yard… That negatively affects their profits and may drive some of them to either stop farming or shift to other low-value crops,” the company said.
“The situation, if not immediately addressed, poses a grave threat to the livelihood of the farmers, as well as the entire sugarcane industry in Batangas and will aggravate the current sugar shortage in the country,” URC added.
Rene Cabati, URC sugar and renewables general manager, earlier said URC will mill as much sugarcane as possible from planters displaced by CADPI’s permanent shutdown as it is to the company’s mutual interest that sugarcanes will be milled not only for Batangas but also for the country’s needs.
Apart from acquiring CADPI’s machinery and equipment, URC’s Balayan mill is also extending its milling season which normally ends in April until June. – Jed Macapagal
