(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –The Hingurana Sugar Factory has increased its net income to Rs 272 million last year. It is noteworthy that the factory has increased revenues last year at a time when the entire manufacturing process in the country is being hampered by the coronavirus epidemic.
Last year, 316,000 metric tons of sugarcane was used for production. The amount of sugar produced from it is 20,000 metric tons. Target for this year is to produce 28,000 metric tons.
The factory also expects to produce 6.5 million liters ENA (Extra Neutral Alcohol) from molasses, a byproduct of sugar production. The Distillery complex at Hingurana Sugar Factory is designed for production of 21,500 Liters of ENA/day
The factory, which supplies 2 megawatts of solar power to the national grid at present, plans to supply 8.75 megawatts in the future. The factory is currently in the process of expanding power generation capacity up to 10 MW by investing on a modernized power plant. Project is expected complete by mid-2021.
Organic fertilizers made from discarded sugarcane are distributed to farmers at concessionary rates and the company pays Rs. 5,500 per tonne of sugarcane to the farmers.
The Hingurana Sugar Factory, which has a history of nearly 60 years, currently employs 1,100 employees and about 4,000 sugarcane farmers.
The factory was forced to shut down with the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, but reopened in May 2020 under the government program to revive the economy amidst the pandemic.
Gal-Oya Plantations, the parent company of the Hingurana Sugar Factory, aims to make the factory a fully net profit institution over the next three years.
