In the previous article, we discuss the geographical factors affecting the location

of rubber plantations, now lets move to the next topic:

Sugar Mills: Nature of Raw material

Sugar mills are located near sugar growing areas, because of two factors

Perishable sugarcane = contains sucrose

Once you cut the sugarcane, the sucrose content starts to decline. Hence raw
material must be quickly transported.

Weight loss sugar accounts for only ~10% of the bulky sugarcane and therefore it
is prohibitively expensive to transport sugarcane over long-distance in its
original form.

Sugar Mill and sugar refinery of two separate location principles

Sugar mill

Sugar refinery

Input sugarcane raw Coarse brown sugar (from sugar mill)

Process Sugarcane is crushed between rollers=sugar juice.
Sugar juice+lime=boiling and crystallization.
raw sugar is refined

output 1.raw coarse brown sugar= need further refining

2.bagasse => fodder, energy, paper-pulp industry,
3.molasses=> ethanol
Brown and white sugars of various grades.
Location
Principle Must be located near sugar-farming areas because sugarcane being bulky-
perishable. e.g. in Uttar Pradesh, Maharahstra, South Gujarat. In countries like
Japan (which rely on imports), the sugar refineries are setup @ports or near market
centers.

Lets examine the factors that led to growth Desi-videsi sugar industries

Indian Sugar Mills: Location factors

Limiting factor=proximity to raw material. So sugar mills are located in 30-50 kms
radius of sugar-cultivating areas.

(list non-exhaustive)

State

Location

Maharahstra Western Maharashtras river valleys

Sangli, Solapur, Satara
Ahmednagar, Pune, Nasik

Uttar Pradesh Western UP and Terai region

Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar
Sitapur, Gorakhpur, Sharanpur

Tamilnadu Coimbtore, Tiruchirapalli

Karnataka Chitradurg, Shimoga

Bijaipur, Belagaum, Bellary

Andhra Hyderabad, Nizamabad

Sugar mills: Maharashtra

factor

impact

climate For sugar, warmer climate=better yield=> Maharashtra grows thicker variety
of sugarcane.
Proximity to Ocean=the difference between minimum and maximum temp. During crop-
maturity months=very low=>increases sugar yield.
sugar crushing season is longer

soil Black lava soil=fertile + retains water=>good for growth.

energy Mills use bagasse as fuel (recall Bagasse cogeneration) = dont need coal.

transport Mumbai Port = helps in export.

labour available

Sugar: Uttar Pradesh

factor

impact

soil potash-lime in soil=helps in growth.

upper gangetic plain=rich fertile.

water Ganga, Yamuna and their numerous tributaries

energy use bagasse instead of coal for energy.
transport Dense road-network, flat terrain =easy transport.
labor Seasonal and migratory labour available=cost of production low.
market large population=> high demand for gur, khandsari, sugar.
govt. sugar pricing=covered in a separate article. click me

Factor: North India vs South

1.In South India: No loo, no frost+ moderating effect of ocean=ideal for sugarcane
growth.
2.But the sugarcane cultivate/industry in South India is not as large as UP-
Maharashtra belt, Why?a.During British-raj, North India used to cultivate indigo as
cash crop but then invention of synthetic dyes=>farmers switched to sugarcane.
b.In South India, farmers have better cash-crop alternatives e.g. cotton, tobacco,
coconut, groundnut etc. so you dont see a large sugarbelt unlike UP.
Ratooning technology
developed by Research insti. @Coimbatore
ratoon crop= during harvest, you dont uproot sugarcane, leave the root intact =>
sugarcane grows again from that root.
Advantage: time, money saved.
challenge: sugar-yield decreases on every cycle, after 1-2 years, you need to
start fresh.

Why Cuba is called the sugar-bowl of World?

factor

impact

climate Hot climate, the north east trade winds= increase sugar yield.

sugarcane Fertile calcareous soil= Crops are obtained twice a year.

capital Large influx of American capital after the Spanish American war helped
sugar industry of Cuba.
WW1 destroyed the farms in Europe, = Americans had to rely more on Cuban Sugar=
prices soared, Americans invested more money in Cuban mills and bought more area
under sugar cultivation.

market Cuba faces the USA (the greatest sugar market in the world)
not very far off from the north west European countries

labor Initially started using slave labor.

govt. policy Until Fidel Castro took over in 1959, the main export market was USA,
but afterwards most of the sugar was exported to USSR and other communist
countries.
Castro confiscated the American owned plantation and Estates, and redistributed
land among workers = smaller landholdings= economy of scale declined=>unit
production cost got higher.
So, later he organized cooperative and Sugar collectives. (like we saw in earlier
in Rice: China)

Now passing references

Misc.Countries

USA sugar is grown in Louisiana and Hawaii

but industry is highly mechanized because lack of labour

Mauritius, Fiji sugarcane Grown with help of indentured labour from India.

Sugar beet
German-climate unsuitable for sugar-cultivation.
They had to rely on imports=sugar-shortage during wartime.
Therefore, Germans developed a method to extract Sugar from sugar beet, and
encouraged the cultivation of sugar beet for the strategic reasons of self reliance
during war-time.
Later industry spread in Belgium and France as well.
In European countries, cool autumn retains the sugar content in root= higher
yields.
Sugar juice makes up to 20% of the root= significant weightloss. Therefore, just
like sugarcane, sugar beet must be processed quickly at nearby factories
But sugarbeet Factories cannot be fed consistently and only operate during the
harvest season= increases cost of running.

Banana Plantations

Just passing reference

fruit ripens very quickly.
without refrigerated boats, impossible to ship product from tropics to US/EU
market.
banana producing regions nearest to major markets have trade advantage. e.g.
Caribbean islands

In the next article, we will discuss the geographical factors affecting the
location of tea and coffee plantatio