The sugar market of Pakistan holds a prestigious position across the country with a production capacity of 5 million tons per annum. Pakistan is the fifth-largest producer of sugarcane, the eighth-largest consumer of sugar, and the sixth-largest producer of cane sugar in the world. The quality and quantity of sugar production in Pakistan is phenomenal and the industry is currently diving into integrating sustainable practices in the production and reuse of the byproducts. Zarea Limited serves as a one-stop solution for sugar products and sugarcane bagasse so you can integrate sustainability into your business without any hassle.
Sugar Market of Pakistan: A Brief Overview
The sugar industry is the second largest industry in Pakistan with over 89 sugar mills across the country producing a significant amount of cane sugar annually. Sugarcane is the raw material for cane sugar abundantly used in the making of raw and refined sugar. Typically grown along the areas with high delta covering area of over 1.2 million hectares providing raw material for over 90 sugar mills across Pakistan.
The sugar industry holds the position of being the country’s second largest agriculture-based industry employing over 1.5 million people. From the cultivation and processing of sugarcane in the MY23, approximately 100-150 million people were provided direct employment worldwide.
Being one of the most important agricultural and cash crops in Pakistan, sugarcane has contributed approximately 3.7% to the agriculture sector, with over 0.9% of Pakistan’s GDP during MY23. Pakistan produced over 6.7mln MT during MY23 and is expected to decline in MY24 by approximately 0.1%. The sugar consumption during the MY23 clocked in at over 6.0mln MT and is expected to increase by approximately 6.6% by MY24. Additionally, the plantation area is also expected to expand during MY25 by 5.6% year-on-year, reaching approximately 1.3mln hectares.
Phases of Sugar Production
Sugar is a common sweetener used in various products all over the world. It is primarily extracted from sugarcane and sugar beet and serves as a crystalline food supplement widely used in food and various products. Sugar production involves the processing of the sugarcane into raw and refined sugar. Initially, sugarcanes are washed and sent to the crushing mill to extract the juice.
This juice is then refined and clarified to remove any impurities. This solution is then evaporated and crystallized to separate the liquor then it is centrifuged to separate the molasses from the crystals. In the end, these crystals are dried and packaged as brown sugar or are further refined to yield white sugar crystals. In addition to that, powdered or ultrafine crystallized sugar can also be produced from this process.
Sugarcane: A Versatile Raw Material
Sugarcane is not only used to produce sugar, it is a versatile source for various other products. Even the byproducts of the sugar-making process can be reused in the production of pharmaceuticals, ethanol, paper products, organic fertilizers, etc.
Byproducts of Sugar Production
The following are the residues left after the sugar production process in Pakistan:
Sugarcane Bagasse: The nutrients and potentially-rich byproduct of sugar production is bagasse which is a coarse fibrous material left once the juice is extracted from the sugarcanes. It is widely used as a renewable energy source for captive power generation and more.
Molasses: The thick and viscous fluid that is left after the clarification and crystallization of sugarcane syrup. Molasses is one of the main ingredients in brown sugar and can be used in various other ways as well.
Filter Cake: It is the residue left after the filtration and a rich source of phosphorus and other organic materials making it ideal to be used as fertilizers and soil improving agent.
Integrating Sustainability into the Sugar Market
The sugar industry has proven to be the most versatile industry consuming mainly steam and little electricity for powering the mills. Also, sugarcane bagasse serves as an ideal renewable energy source as it can be combusted to power the mills. 1 MT of sugarcane cut provides approximately 120Kg Sugar, 36Kg Filter Mud, 36Kg Filter Mud, 250 Kg Bagasse, 60Kg Straw, and 100Kg Tops.
Sugarcane bagasse is produced over 4.4 million MT in Pakistan which has the potential of generating 1000 MW of electricity. Therefore, it is one of the most ideal and abundantly produced residues with high potential to produce renewable energy. Proper utilization of the residue reduces the cost of sugar production in Pakistan. Bagasse is a rich source of energy to fuel the boilers to heat the sugarcane juice. In addition to that, it has the potential to be used for making Medium Density Fiber Board (MDFB) in some industries as a substitute for natural wood.
The sugar market in Pakistan is integrating sustainable practices to become more energy efficient by employing the High-Pressure Cogeneration (HPC) technology. Unfortunately, only five out of 89 sugar mills in Pakistan have this technology so far. It is a method of power generation using high-pressure boilers to generate electricity by utilizing sugarcane bagasse. HPC technology consumes 46% less sugarcane bagasse to generate electricity as compared to the traditional low-pressure technology being used in the sugar mills of Pakistan. The abundance of bagasse production annually has the potential to generate over 830GWh per year.
Conclusion
The sugar industry has the immense potential to play a significant role in Pakistan’s energy matrix. Various incentives are being offered to the power-generating sugar mills of Pakistan to revolutionize the economy and energy sector of Pakistan. Zarea Limited covers every ground to provide the people of Pakistan with affordable products from top-quality bagasse to premium sugar at your doorstep! Check out our website today to explore the categories of the commodities we are offering.
