Lacalle Pou participated in the closing of the sugarcane harvest at the ALUR plant in Bella Unión. The harvest, of 6,900 hectares, is a record and the yield is 75.5 tons of cane and 8.5 tons of sugar per hectare. On the occasion, the president highlighted the commitment and trust with a sector that promotes sustainable production. “People don’t want help, they want to be given opportunities,” he said.
The event was also attended by the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado; the Ministers of Industry, Omar Paganini; Transport, José Luis Falero, and Environment, Adrián Peña; the interim Minister of Livestock, Juan Ignacio Buffa; the mayor of Artigas, Pablo Caram; the president of Ancap, Alejandro Stipanicic; the head of Alcoholes del Uruguay (ALUR), Alfredo Fernández Sívori, and the general manager of the company, Álvaro Lorenzo, among others.
ALUR’s main guideline is to produce ethanol and sugar. The sector employs 2,450 people directly, 1,400 cutters, 550 officials and 500 more, including producers and service providers.
Lacalle Pou considered that the uncertainty about the future of the sugarcane sector has been transformed into certainty, that there is a firm commitment from the Government directed to the sector, as well as confidence in the producers and workers, and that it is a sustainable production that adds value to the incorporate technology.
“I have trusted the people of Bella Unión for many years, and the Government accompanies and gives opportunities to its people. We are celebrating that a commitment was generated from uncertainty, that commitment generated trust and that trust generated compliance. It is a virtuous chain between society itself, society and the Government, and vice versa”, the president emphasized.
In his speech, he stressed that there is confidence in future productions because there was compliance in the past. “Cane production, from the field, from the producer and with the cutters, is not only a job, it is a way of understanding life”, he added.
Paganini, meanwhile, expressed that it is time to celebrate the success of a sustained and aligned policy between Ancap, ALUR, the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining and the Presidency of the Republic, with the aim of achieving sustainable production of sugar and ethanol. He recalled that the Government increased, from 5 to 8.5, the obligation to mix ethanol in gasoline to promote environmental commitments.
Buffa agreed that the result of success is made up of tranquility in the producers of the input, the incorporation of innovation, research and local and international business.
Stipanicic asserted that ALUR seeks to be sustainable, environmentally friendly, socially responsible and profitable from an economic point of view. He assured that a welfare model was changed for another based on efficiency and productivity. He added that 99% of the producers close the harvest without debts.
He also announced that the company will produce synthetic fuel in a short time. This fuel has the same properties as conventional fuels, and is obtained through the electrolysis of hydrogen by adding carbon dioxide.
record harvest
The 2022 harvest in the company’s agroenergy complex shows high crop productivity. The harvest was located in 6,900 hectares, with a record yield for sugar cane, around 75.5 tons per hectare, which represents about 8.4 tons of sugar per hectare, while the grinding volume exceeds 524,000 tons.
In 2021, the production had also been a record, of 461,000 tons, at an average of 68.4 tons per hectare and with a yield of 7,863 kilograms of sugar. 95% of the producers obtained a positive result and twice as much as in 2020 was reached.
The incorporation of new sugarcane materials made it possible to increase the speed of growth and early maturation, which led to the harvest starting earlier and improving the conditions for a higher yield in kilos of sugar.
Inauguration of access works to ALUR
Previously, Lacalle Pou, accompanied by Caram, Paganini, Falero, Peña and Stipanicic, inaugurated the bituminization works on the road that connects route 3 with the ALUR complex, whose investment cost 3 million pesos.
The intervention in the 5 kilometer section was carried out by the Directorate of the National Highway Administration and included the rehabilitation of roads and the shoulder in an area of 45,000 square meters.
