President allocates 130,000 hectares:

More lands for sugarcane cultivation

Akuressa central special corr

The President has allocated 130,000 hectares for sugarcane cultivation through budget 2013 to increase local sugar production which is only five percent of the total demand.

With the new sugarcane cultivation project local sugar production is expected to increase upto 35 percent of the total demand by 2016 Minor Export Crop Promotion Minister Reginald Cooray said. He was addressing a meeting after laying the foundation stone for a sugarcane seed propagation centre at Ensalwatte, Deniyaya recently.

Minister Cooray said earlier we had four sugar factories at Sevanagala, Pelwatte, Higurana and Kantale. Two of them were inactivated later. The other two factories gave pride of place for the production of molasses.

The government took over these two factories which had turned into profitable ventures today.

He said sugar cane could be utilized for subsidiary products other than sugar as proved by factories in India. The Ensalwatte location was selected for the seed propagation centre as it had the best favourable soil conditions according to advanced tests carried out by the ministry.

He said steps have been taken to introduce sugar cane cultivation in the Northern and Eastern Provinces too.

Minister Cooray addressing the meeting The sugar cane plant nursery