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Presscane K33bn project to increase ethanol production

Presscane Limited, a subsidiary of listed Press Corporation Limited (PCL) has embarked on a $70 million (K33 billion) project aimed to increase ethanol production by engaging farmers to grow and sell the sugarcane to the ethanol distillery company.

The project targets 1 500 farmers in the sugarcane-growing area of Chikwawa, covering about 15 group village heads of the district.fuel

PCL general manager for operations Christopher Guta said the project, part of the company’s efforts to boost ethanol production, is aimed at transferring earning power to farmers.

He said Presscane has the capacity to produce 36 million litres of ethanol per year, but only produces 20 to 25 million litres. Out of the production, 16 million litres are used to blend ethanol with petrol, largely due to lack of raw materials; hence, rolling out the project.

“Currently, we produce ethanol from molasses that we buy from Illovo Sugar (Malawi) Limited which is not enough for ethanol production capacity. The project will, therefore, help us produce ethanol throughout the year and in large volumes, thereby meeting our production capacity and market demand,” he said.

Presscane out-grower project development unit manager ConnexChilangwe said the project has been designed in a holistic manner to ensure that farmers benefit from it and not compromise their essential needs.

“As much as we want to encourage sugarcane production, we will not compromise food crops for the sugarcane. We are planning to have 2 000 hectares for sugarcane and over 270 hectares for food crops under irrigation. We are, therefore, double sure that the production levels for food crops will be higher than normal,” he said.

Chilangwe said the company, through the project, anticipates 200 000 tonnes of sugarcane for their production, stressing that the project is proved to have a positive benefit cost impact on the economy and the farmer.

“Having a home-grown product will significantly benefit the country. Government spends a lot of money to import fuel but having this project means government will save the money for other meaningful purposes while on the other hand, the farmer will have a ready market to sale his produce,’’ he said

Paramount Chief Lundu expressed optimism that the development will help improve livelihoods of people in the area, describing the development as a welcome idea.

Presscane recently launched Ethanol Driven Vehicles Project (EDVP) with the installation of conversion kits in about 50 vehicles to enable motorists choose either using ethanol as a standalone fuel or a blend of ethanol and petrol.

Fuel pump stations where motorists who will have their cars refuelled have, however, not been announced as the company awaits a pricing mechanism of ethanol from Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera).

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