Sugar mills in Colombia

Sugar mills is the name by which it is known in Colombia to the old colonial haciendas that had facilities to process sugar cane. In them not only sugar was obtained, but also rum, alcohol and other products.

These facilities, perfectly preserved and modernized, are still operating today. In the country there are thirteen sugar mills located in the Cauca river valley, where almost all the sugar produced by Colombia is manufactured.

History of the sugar mills

While the sugar cane It is not an autochthonous American crop, it was introduced in the new world by the Spanish and the Portuguese. It was soon confirmed that the land and climate of certain intertropical American regions was perfect for the optimal growth of this plant.

So much so that today the American countries are among the world's largest sugar producers, with Brazil to the head.

In the first centuries of the Spanish conquest, sugar was processed in rudimentary mills called sugar mills. Later on, these facilities were expanded and improved with the introduction of sugar mills, which were already operating in the Canary Islands since the XNUMXth century.

Colombia produces more than 2 million tons of sugar per year, obtained from about 22 million tons of cane. A huge figure, but still far from the 35 million tons produced by Brazil. Almost 400 million liters of fuel alcohol are also manufactured in its sugar mills.

Colombian sugar production

Sugar regions

The departments of Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Risaralda make up a region that has the ideal conditions for the growth of sugar cane. These conditions are intense and constant insolation throughout the year, the ideal temperature range between day and night, abundant water availability, an adequate rainfall regime and rich and fertile soils.

This allows in Colombia the cultivation of sugarcane can be carried out continuously throughout the year and not seasonally, as is the case in the rest of the world. This peculiarity makes the Cauca River Valley one of the best sugar regions in the world.

To these valuable natural conditions of the Colombian sugar region must be added the technological advance promoted by the Sugarcane Research Center, which works with the contribution of all growers and mills in the country.

In Valle del Cauca there are about 230.000 hectares of sugar cane plantations. These plantations supply the sugar mills of the region: Cabaña, Carmelita, Manuelita, María Luisa, Mayagüez, Pichichí, Risaralda, Sancarlos, Tumaco, Ríopaila-Castilla, Incauca and Providencia.

Five of these thirteen mills (specifically those of Incauca, Manuelita, Providencia, Mayagüez and Risaralda) also have attached distilleries for the production of fuel alcohol.

Production process

Once the sugar cane is harvested, it is transported to the sugar mills, where its processing begins following the following followed:

1. Juice extraction (also called guarapo).
2. Purification and concentration. The waste resulting from this process is used as organic compost.
3. Refined and dried, to give place to syrup.
4. Crystallization, casting and centrifugation to eliminate possible impurities.
5. Packaging and storage.

On the whole, the country produces more than 2 million tons of sugar every year from some 22 million tons of sugarcane as well as 390 million liters of fuel alcohol destined to be mixed with gasoline. During processing, it also generates ethanol, panelas and honeys. With the remains of the solid part of the reed is also manufactured pulp for paper.

Most of the production is destined for the domestic market, although in recent years Colombia has exported more than 600.000 tons of sugar per year, mainly to Chile, Peru, the United States, Mexico and Bolivia.

Sugar in the Colombian economy

Sugar has an important weight in the Colombian economy. The sugar industry employs thousands of people in the region. On the other hand, sugar is the raw material for multiple products of the industry in this country.

However, sugar is today the subject of controversy for different reasons:

On the one hand, the production cost of Colombian sugar is much higher than that of other countries. This results in the loss of competitiveness and many problems when exporting the product.

Another problem is that of the working conditions of the cutters, the workers who are in charge of harvesting the sugar cane for the sugar mills, who have been the subject of numerous complaints.

This situation is further complicated by the growing controversy over Harmful Effects of Excess Sugar Consumption in Humans. Social and health pressure has been reflected in an increase in taxation on the sector and the implementation of new quality control systems.