Sudan is the third sugar producer in Africa after South Africa and Egypt. Around 1 Million Tonnes of sugar per year is produced out of which about 0.2 million Tonnes per year is exported. However, the country is deficient in sugar as the annual consumption in Sudan reaches 1.6 million Tonnes per year. In general, there is great potential in both sugar and ethanol production. Exports of ethanol have already taken place since 2009.
Most of the world’s sugarcane is grown between 22°N and 22°S but sometimes as North as 33° and 33° South. Sugarcane is a C-4 plant grown for 12+ months. Therefore, sugarcane produces higher yields of sugar than sugar beet which makes it the basic sugar crop in tropical regions.
Main Varieties:
Local Sudanese sugarcane varieties include BJ9738, BJ82105, BT74209, CoC 671, and TUC 75-3. Many other sugar cane clones have been introduced in Sudan from various countries including the Caribbean, Latin America, and even Southeast Asia.
Marketing Information and Uses:
In Sudan average yields of about 100 Tonnes per Ha have been reported which corresponds to about 9.7 Tonnes of sugar per Ha.
Use:
Sugar cane is a major crop used in several industries. Apart from the basic production of sugar and ethanol, production but also processed into juice, molasses, animal feed, paper, and panel boards. Sugarcane is one of the most efficient crops in terms of photosynthesis as it is able to convert up to 2% of incident solar radiation into biomass.
