Empee Sugars and Chemicals will start making white sugar at its upcoming sugar complex in Tamil Nadu by importing raw sugar from Brazil.
Going forward the company will increase the capacity of its new facility to 8,000 TCD (tonne crushed per day) based on cane availability, MP Purushothaman, chairman and managing director of Empee group told FE.
?The 5,000 TCD sugar complex at Ambasamudram in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu is set to go on stream soon and the company expects to start with a minimum capacity due to low availability of sugarcane. Sugarcane planting is in full swing and going forward we will increase the daily crushing capacity. To make use of the integrated complex, the company will start making white sugar by importing raw sugar from Brazil with a small quantity,? Purushothaman said.
?As a part of this exercise, the company is importing 25,000 tonne of raw sugar from Brazil to convert into white sugar and then will sell the same in the domestic market. Based on the price, market conditions in India as well as abroad, the company will import more raw sugar. We expect the shipment to reach by month-end or early next month,? he said.
According to Purushothaman, the project is set up with an investment of Rs 550 crore with an initial capacity of 5,000 TCD to be scaled up to 8,000 TCD. The complex will also have a 50 mw cogen power plant apart from 100 KL distillery which is under progress. ?We require less than 10 mw to run the complex and the rest will be sold to Tamil Nadu Electricity Board,? he added.