The Director General of the General Sugar Corporation, Saad Al-Din Al-Ali, revealed that the Tal Salhab sugar factory will be re-launched after a 7-year hiatus from production, pointing out that maintenance and rehabilitation work is currently being carried out intensively after the financial appropriations were monitored for it, explaining that the maintenance work exceeded 90% percent, and the plant will be ready by the beginning of the next sugar beet season.
Al-Ali pointed out that the Tal Salhab sugar factory will operate with a production capacity of 3800 tons per day and will produce about 16 thousand tons of white sugar for consumption from about 160 thousand tons of beet, in addition to that it will produce two secondary materials, the first is bagasse as a fodder material and the second is molasses, which is considered An essential material for the manufacture of yeast that is used in the manufacture of bread, which reduces import and saves foreign exchange on the state’s public treasury.
He added that sugar beet is an important strategic crop in addition to wheat and cotton crops and supports thousands of families of workers and farmers, noting that re-launching the factory and manufacturing sugar beet will positively affect the provision of sugar in local markets and contribute to reducing its price to about 20 percent, in addition to achieving economic feasibility. Savings amounting to billions of Syrian pounds on the treasury.
He indicated that the estimated quantities that will be drawn from farmers range from 150 to 160 thousand tons of sugar beet at an appropriate price and remunerative for farmers according to the popular prices so as to benefit them by achieving very good profits, explaining that a ton of sugar beet was priced last year at an initial price of 175,000 pounds. Syria, based on the cost study, and after the price hike, one ton was re-priced to 250 thousand Syrian pounds, noting that in addition to pricing the ton at the popular prices, 8 liters of diesel was also granted at the subsidized price for each dunum planted with beet in addition to fertilizers, with the aim of encouraging farmers to plant sugar beet
Al-Ali pointed out that contracts have been completed with farmers to grow sugar beet on an area of 4,385 hectares, resulting in about 263,000 tons. A suitable seed for these lands was imported from Belgium and distributed to farmers in accordance with the concluded contracts, indicating that 47 tons of seeds were imported and only 30 tons were distributed, and therefore the current cultivated area decreased to 2200 hectares of what was planned, and therefore the quantity will decrease in turn as a result of the turnout from The farmers were not in the necessary and required form, in addition to the damage of part of the crop due to weather conditions and frost during the past periods to the limits of 30 percent of the land with an area estimated at 1519 hectares, excluding an area of 2,200 hectares.
In the context, he pointed out that the Tal Salhab Sugar Company, located in the countryside of Hama, is the only company currently manufacturing sugar beet after the other companies that were damaged stopped, explaining that the Al-Thawra Sugar Company in the Maskana area in the countryside of Aleppo was almost completely damaged, in addition to the exit of the companies of Jisr Al-Shughur and Deir Al-Zour. And Raqqa, which is still out of control.
He pointed out that the rehabilitation operations in Maskana Sugar Company actually began before the specified period, as the contract was initiated, the rubble and remnants of terrorist groups were removed from the company, and electricity was extended from a distance of 12.5 km to the company, in addition to water.
Currently, some equipment, iron and sheet metal plates have arrived, and the rehabilitation process has begun.
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