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Plantation
The milling of sugar cane produces raw sugar and also by-products such as bagasse and molasses.
Wilmar owns eight mills in Australia, seven in India, two in China and two in Myanmar. As a result of economies of scale, the prime location of our mills and their surrounding cane suppliers, we are able to operate our sugar milling operations in a cost effective manner.
Our mills generate their own electricity by burning bagasse – the fibrous material left over from crushed sugar cane or sugar beet. Excess electricity is either used internally or sold to the national power grid.
Molasses, another by-product of sugar milling, is used as an additive for livestock feed and to produce ethanol in Australia, India and Myanmar.
Our global, integrated sugar business includes cultivation of the crops that we process to produce raw sugar.
In Australia, we operate one of the country’s largest and most advanced sugarcane farming operations under best practice principles. Our farms span about 7,000 ha and produce more than half a million tonnes of sugarcane each year for supply to our mills.
Our modern farming operations in Myanmar are also some of the largest in the country. Covering around 1,000 ha, they enable us to assess the performance of new cane varieties and breed seed cane for release.
We invest heavily in innovation, research and development to improve cane farming practices on our own farms and across the broader sugar industry.
Producing renewable electricity is just one step in our commitment to maintain a responsible and sustainable sugar supply chain.
We recycle a biomass called bagasse, the fibre that is left over after sugarcane has been crushed, for use as boiler fuel at our mills. It is burned at temperatures of more than 800˚C to produce steam. The energy in this steam is either converted into electricity or used as heat in the factories. We create enough renewable electricity to power our mills and export significant quantities to local power grids.
In India our factories have a total generation capacity of 262 megawatts, exporting about 143 megawatts to the grid. In Australia, we are the largest producer of renewable energy from biomass, with a total generation capacity of 202 megawatts across our eight mills. Each year we export enough electricity to power more than 68,000 Australian homes.
Our ethanol distilleries ferment molasses, a by-product of the raw sugar milling process, to turn into ethanol.
In India, we own 62% of Shree Renuka Sugars Limited (SRSL), the leading sugar company in the country. SRSL has a cane crushing capacity of 8.5 million MT per annum and ethanol distillery capacity of 1,250 kilolitres per day (as at 31 December 2022)
In Australia, our Wilmar BioEthanol business produces about 60 million litres and is also a leading producer and importer of ethanol products.
While the majority of Australian ethanol is supplied to the renewable fuel market, we supply a significant market share to various industries including the pharmaceutical, printing, cleaning, winery, aerosol, animal health and food and beverage industries. We also supply and trade in a range of industrial solvents and chemicals, specialty ingredients, non-sugar sweeteners, refrigeration brine and organic products.
In Australia, we convert Bio Dunder®, a co-product of the ethanol distillation process, into a range of liquid fertilisers for sugarcane and other crops, as well as liquid stockfeed supplements for graziers. Our renewable agricultural products are backed by decades of research and development, and a commitment to improve environmental sustainability while optimising productivity and value for our customers.
Farms
Our global, integrated sugar business includes cultivation of the crops that we process to produce raw sugar.
In Australia, we operate one of the country’s largest and most advanced sugarcane farming operations under best practice principles. Our farms span about 7,000 ha and produce more than half a million tonnes of sugarcane each year for supply to our mills.
Our modern farming operations in Myanmar are also some of the largest in the country. Covering around 1,000 ha, they enable us to assess the performance of new cane varieties and breed seed cane for release.
We invest heavily in innovation, research and development to improve cane farming practices on our own farms and across the broader sugar industry.
Cogeneration
Producing renewable electricity is just one step in our commitment to maintain a responsible and sustainable sugar supply chain.
We recycle a biomass called bagasse, the fibre that is left over after sugarcane has been crushed, for use as boiler fuel at our mills. It is burned at temperatures of more than 800˚C to produce steam. The energy in this steam is either converted into electricity or used as heat in the factories. We create enough renewable electricity to power our mills and export significant quantities to local power grids.
In India our factories have a total generation capacity of 262 megawatts, exporting about 143 megawatts to the grid. In Australia, we are the largest producer of renewable energy from biomass, with a total generation capacity of 202 megawatts across our eight mills. Each year we export enough electricity to power more than 68,000 Australian homes.
Ethanol
Our ethanol distilleries ferment molasses, a by-product of the raw sugar milling process, to turn into ethanol.
In India, we own 62% of Shree Renuka Sugars Limited (SRSL), the leading sugar company in the country. SRSL has a cane crushing capacity of 8.5 million MT per annum and ethanol distillery capacity of 1,250 kilolitres per day (as at 31 December 2022)
In Australia, our Wilmar BioEthanol business produces about 60 million litres and is also a leading producer and importer of ethanol products.
While the majority of Australian ethanol is supplied to the renewable fuel market, we supply a significant market share to various industries including the pharmaceutical, printing, cleaning, winery, aerosol, animal health and food and beverage industries. We also supply and trade in a range of industrial solvents and chemicals, specialty ingredients, non-sugar sweeteners, refrigeration brine and organic products.
Agricultural Products
In Australia, we convert Bio Dunder®, a co-product of the ethanol distillation process, into a range of liquid fertilisers for sugarcane and other crops, as well as liquid stockfeed supplements for graziers. Our renewable agricultural products are backed by decades of research and development, and a commitment to improve environmental sustainability while optimising productivity and value for our customers.
