Office of the Cane & Sugar Board
Self-Description: Edited September 2008 http://www.ocsb.go.th/eng/article.asp
THE Office of the Cane and Sugar Board of Thailand is the country’s leading organization for sustainable growth and development of the Cane and Sugar Industry including Sugar-related industries for Thai cane farmers and sugar millers.
Mission
- To provide guidance and early warning to Cane and Sugar Industry including Sugar-related Industries.
- To support the Cane and Sugar industry including Sugar-related Industries to develop their competitive capacity and sustainable growth with balances.
- To supervise sustainable growth of the Cane and Sugar Industry including Sugar-related Industries to integrate and strengthen Thai economic development and well-being of Thailand community.
Thailand’s Sugarcane and Sugar Production
In the past 20 years, Thailand’s sugarcane and sugar industry grew to the point where the country has become one of the world’s largest sugar exporters. The industry is one of the country’s key industrial sectors, playing an important role in the country’s economic and social development.
This industry can generate revenue to the local economy for more than 50,000 million baht annually from exports and domestic sales of sugar. It, also, creates employment and income for more than 1,000,000 sugarcane farmers and people in related sectors.
However, Thailand’s sugarcane and sugar production during the past three years has decreased continually as the country has experienced unfavourable weather conditions and sugarcane growers have switched to other crops such as cassava, palm oil and rubber trees plantation, which offer higher income.
It is estimated that sugarcane production in 2005/2006 (November/October) decreased to 43 million tons, 42 percent down from 74.07 million tons in 2002/2003, and that sugar output will reach 4.3 million tons, a 40 percent decrease from 7.28 million tons in 2002/2003. If this problem can not be solved, the revenue of the country’s sugarcane and sugar industry will consequently be affected.
Sugarcane and Sugar Industry and Renewable Energy Production
Due to increased consumption and the rising price of crude oil, Thailand has to import energy in higher quantities and at higher prices. This has not only impacted on the country’s trade deficit and energy insecurity, but also has affected the economy as a whole.
One alternative way to lessen dependence on oil imports and foreign exchange loss is to find other sources of energy from the country’s abundance of agricultural crops, which can be used for production of renewable energy, i.e. rice, corn, cassava, palm oil and sugarcane.
Absolutely, everything from sugarcane is used i.e bagasse, syrup, filtered cake and waste from the harvest. Bagasse and sugarcane leaves can be used as fuel for generating electricity; and sugarcane syrup as well as molasses can be feedstock for ethanol production. Furthermore, sheath and leaves can be used for fertilizer and for producing ethanol.
According to the International Sugar Organization (ISO) Report on “World Sugar and Renewable Energy: New Drivers and Their Impacts” (March 17, 2004), sugarcane is a highly efficient converter of solar energy, and has the highest energy-to-volume ratio among energy crops. (?)
Indeed, it gives the highest annual yield of biomass of all species. Roughly, 1 ton of sugarcane biomass-based on bagasse, foliage and ethanol output – has an energy content equivalent to one barrel of crude oil.
Ethanol production from sugarcane is in line with the gasohol promotion policy of the Thai government, which aims to increase domestic ethanol demand to three million litres per day by 2011.
To promote sugar factories to implement co-production of both sugar and ethanol not only creates value-added and increased revenue for the sugarcane and sugar industry, it also gives the industry flexibility in sugar production. Whenever, sugar price increases and offer higher revenue than ethanol, more sugarcane should be put into sugar. When sugar yields less revenue than ethanol, more sugarcane should be used as raw material (feedstock) for ethanol production.
Ethanol yield from sugarcane and other energy crops
One litre ethanol can be produced from
- 14.3 Kilograms of sugarcane
- 3.85 Kilograms of molasses
- 6 Kilograms of cassava
- 14.3 Kilograms of sweet sorghum
Moreover, from it, many kinds of high value-added products can be produced; sugar and various types of alcohol can be made; beverages, such as sugarcane spirits and rum can be manufactured; several biochemical products can be made from ethanol.
In conclusion, value creation from sugarcane and sugar will not only bring benefits to sugarcane farmers and other stakeholders in the sugarcane and sugar industry, but also will support Thailand’s economic and social development as a whole. (8 March 2006)