Phil-Thai group to set up P800-M sugar mill

One of Thailand’s biggest sugar conglomerates has entered into a joint venture with a local businessman to set up an P800 million sugar mill project in Mabinay, Negros Oriental. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Filipino and Thai proponents was formally signed during the two-day working visit of President Arroyo in Thailand.

The Mabinay sugar mill project, which will be formally known as the Asian Sugar Alliance Inc. or ASA Sugar, is a joint venture between Ban Pong Intertrade Ltd. of Thailand and Enrique D. Rojas.

The Ban Pong Group, represented by Ban Pong Intertrade Ltd., is a Thai conglomerate and is one of the top players in the Thai sugar industry. The group owns several mills and has a large stake in a number of sugar trading companies.

The Ban Pong Group counts Japan’s Mitsui Group as among its top export clients.

Rojas, on the other hand, is a businessman and currently president of the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP).

The planned sugar mill will be operational by September 2003 and will have a maximum milling capacity of 4,500 tons of cane per day.

The Mabinay mill will be more of a reconstruction of an existing mill from Japan, with additional machinery from Thailand and locally sourced parts.

The mill is expected to increase national sugar output for both the domestic and export markets by about 75,000 tons and is also seen to provide employment and livelihood for the poor municipality of Mabinay.