In spite of the global oversupply of processed sugar, Peruvian company Empresa Agricola Cerro Prieto announced that it will invest US$85m in a sugar production and processing project. It involves cultivating over 4,500 hectares of sugar cane and building a sugar refinery. The refinery will process up to 4,000 tonnes of cane per day, of which 1,500 will be supplied by growers outside the project.
Development of the land involves an investment of between US$25m and US$35m. The money will be used to buy a total of 5,764 hectares of land, develop areas to be cultivated and build a canal approximately 12 kilometres long. The development stage is scheduled to take 24 months to complete. Maple Gas is the majority partner in Cerro Prieto and the other is Peru Agro Industrial. The latter is an investment company with Peruvian and European shareholders.
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The project will incorporate state-of-the-art technology and production techniques. Direct permanent jobs created by the project will number 1,000, while another 2,000 indirect permanent jobs are anticipated. Refined sugar produced at the refinery will primarily supply the domestic market. At present, Peru does not produce enough refined sugar to meet internal demand.
