Universal Robina Corp. (URC) is acquiring the idle sugar milling machinery and equipment of Central Azucarera Don Pedro Inc. (CADPI).
The assets will be used to expand the capacity and improve the sugar recovery process at its sugar mill in Balayan, Batangas.
The new machinery and equipment were acquired from CADPI, a subsidiary of listed firm Roxas Holdings Inc. which has permanently shut down its milling operations.
Its acquisition will raise the URC Balayan mill’s capacity from 5,000 metric tons (MT) to 8,000 MT a day.
The financial details to the transaction have not been released.
URC vowed to accommodate more sugarcane farmers at its Balayan mill to help secure a source of livelihood while also ensuring ample sugar supply for consumers and cut the time needed to expand its existing mill from four to two years.
“The farmers are currently suffering from low sugar recovery on their sugarcane deliveries due to long waiting time in the truck yard. That negatively affects profits and may drive some of them to either stop farming or shift to other low-value crops,” the company said.
Rene Cabati, URC sugar and renewables general manager, earlier said URC will mill as much sugarcane as possible from planters displaced by CADPI’s permanent shutdown.
Apart from acquiring CADPI’s machinery and equipment, the URC Balayan mill is extending its milling season that normally ends in April until June.
