Nicaragua collected in the 2021-2022 harvest about 7.4 million tons of sugarcane, a volume 7.6% higher than the previous period and the largest harvest in its history, the National Committee of Sugar Producers reported on Tuesday. (CNPA).
The 2021-2022 sugar harvest in Nicaragua closed with a total production of 17,727,267.60 quintals, about 7,351,391.58 tons, according to statistics released by the CNPA, made up of the country’s four main mills.
“The important thing about this figure of 17.7 million quintals is that this is not only the largest sugar production in Nicaragua in its more than 130 years of sugar production, but also, along with that amount of sugar, we achieved also break historical goals that we had for a long time,” said the general manager of the CNPA, Mario Amador, at a press conference.
“In 30 years we have doubled the planting area, multiplying production from 4.2 million quintals in 1993 to 17.7 million quintals in 2022,” he stressed.
The executive also highlighted that in the last 30 years they went from an area of 51,620 manzanas (about 36,361 hectares) cultivated and a total production of 2,461,000 short tons of cane (about 2.23 million metric tons) to 104,508 manzanas. (about 73,615.4 hectares) and a cane production of 8,103,471 short tons of cane (7.35 million metric tons).
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The sugar harvest, which began on November 15 and ended on May 24 of this year, exceeded expected expectations and “reached a production record,” Amador celebrated.
The executive attributed to “good agricultural practices and efficiency in the different production processes” what allowed “to achieve good agricultural and industrial performance.”
The harvest could generate 220 million dollars in exported sugar alone, plus derivatives such as molasses and alcohol could add up to 260 million dollars in total exports, according to the CNPA.
Nicaragua exports 65% of the sugar it harvests and the remaining 35% is for domestic consumption.
The main export destinations for sugarcane are the United States, the European Union, South Korea, Haiti, and African countries.
Sugar is one of Nicaragua’s top ten export products.
Residues from cane are also used for the production of alcohol and the generation of renewable energy and during the 2021-2022 harvest, the mills contributed 20% of the energy consumed in the country, according to the CNPA.
