Roxas Holdings mulls sugar ecozones

MANILA, Philippines - Sugar producer Roxas Holdings Inc. (RHI) is targeting to develop sugar economic zones with a combined size of about 450 hectares in two areas where its sugar milling facilities are located.

RHI chairman Pedro E. Roxas said the company intends to put up sugar ecozones in Batangas and Negros Occidental  located within the premises of the company’s Central Azucarera Don Pedro Inc. and Central Azucarera de la Carlota Inc., respectively.

“We are still looking at the legal side, the legislation, and once that’s in place, depending on how the regulation goes, then we would do. We are quite keen on doing something like that,” Roxas said.

“We can do it in both. We can do it in Batangas and we can do it in Negros. The mill is already there,” he added.

In Negros Occidental, Roxas said the company can develop up to 300 hectares of sugar ecozone while another 150 hectares can be put up in Batangas.

“We’re still exploring. But we’re preparing our area so that we can have an economic zone there that can bring in locators,” said RHI president Renato C. Valencia.

The establishment of special economic zones for sugarcane cultivation is seen to strengthen the industry in line with the upcoming economic integration within the Asean region this year.

“If we do something in that area, it will probably be within the next two years,” Roxas said.

RHI officials said the development of a sugar ecozone is also in line with the company’s plan to venture into high-value sugar products which include pre-mix sugar, crystal sugar and liquid sugar.

“We can toll for other companies. Those fruit juice in powder form, we can produce for branded products. That’s one. We can also go into liquid sugar. These are value-added products that other mills may not be able to provide. But we could provide, let’s say, a beverage company that’s nearby our plant.

So these are specialty products we’re looking at,” Valencia said.

RHI is one of the country’s largest sugar millers and is also into the ethanol business.

RHI posted a 90 percent decline in its net income in the first quarter of its fiscal year ending December 2014 as its Batangas milling operations were delayed pending maturity of sugarcane.