MAURITIUS CANE INDUSTRY AUTHORITY MAURITIUS SUGARCANE INDUSTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

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1 MAURITIUS CANE INDUSTRY AUTHORITY MAURITIUS SUGARCANE INDUSTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTE Ref A 1/213 6 December CLIMATE SUGAR CANE CROP 213 Status: Rainfall (Table 1a and 1b, Figure 1) The island s average rainfall over the sugar cane areas for November was 224 mm and represented 23% of the long term mean (2 mm). Rainfall recorded was well above the longterm mean in all sectors, with 3 mm in the North, 24 mm in the East, 246 mm in the South, 256 mm in the West and 2 mm in the Centre. These amounts represented 262%, 2%, 224%, 26% and 25% of the respective long-term means. Cumulative rainfall for the months of October and November 213 amounted to 33 mm for the island, i.e. 242% of the long-term mean of 154 mm. During that two-month period, 214 mm were recorded in the North, 44 mm in the East, 416 mm in the South, 31 mm in the West and 41 mm in the Centre. These cumulated amounts represented 243%, 25%, 22%, 614% and 232% of the long-term mean of the respective sector, which stands at mm, 16 mm, 26 mm, 4 mm and 2 mm. Table 1a Rainfall (mm) of November for crops 213, and the long term mean (LTM) North East South West Centre Island (2) (2) () (1) (2) () (262)* (2) (224) (26) (25) (23) LTM Crop year is from October to September * figures in brackets are % of LTM Table 1b Cumulative rainfall (mm) from October to November 213 for crop 214 compared to that of crop 213 and the long term mean (LTM) North East South West Centre Island (5) () (1) () (6) () (243)* (25) (22) (614) (232) (242) LTM * figures in brackets are % of LTM [Source : raw provisional data from Meteorological Services]

2 MSIRI SUGAR CANE CROP 213 Status: 213 6//13 Figure 1 Monthly rainfall (mm) for the period Oct to Nov 213 for the 214 crop compared to the corresponding period of the 213 crop and to the long term mean (LTM). 5 Sector NORTH 5 Sector WEST LTM LTM 5 Sector EAST 5 Sector CENTRE 4 4 NOV OCT LTM LTM 5 Sector SOUTH 5 ISLAND LTM LTM 2

3 MSIRI SUGAR CANE CROP 213 Status: 213 6//13 2. CROP PRODUCTIVITY 213 As at 3 November 213, about 2% ( ha) of miller-planters land had been harvested, an acreage slightly higher than the 31 2 ha harvested at the same period last year. Sector-wise and again for miller-planters only, harvest has been completed in the East and Centre whereas it reached % in the North, 5% in the South and % in the West. An analysis of cane productivity based on the harvest statistics for miller-planters in all sectors follows. Owing to the centralization of milling activities and as all the canes from the Centre are crushed at FUEL, harvest statistics relative to extraction rate and sugar productivity have been combined for these two sectors. 2.1 Cane productivity (Table 2a) Cane productivity for the island as at 3 November 213 was 6. TCH compared to.1 TCH recorded in 2, representing a shortfall of about 3% when compared to last year s performance. Sector-wise, the West recorded the best cane productivity to-date with 5.6 TCH, followed by the South (. TCH), the East (5. TCH), the North (6.5 TCH) and the Centre (6. TCH). These figures compared to the same period in 2 were lower in the North, East and Centre by 4.2 TCH, 3. TCH and.1 TCH respectively. But in the South and West, cane productivity at end November 213 was higher than the corresponding period last year by 1.3 TCH and 2. TCH. Table 2a Cane productivity (TCH) as at end October and November for the 2 and 213 crops Sectors North East South West Centre Island Extraction (Table 2b, figure 1) The recorded cumulative island extraction rate of 1.3% exceeded that of the corresponding period in 2 (1.34%) by.3 o. Table 2b Cumulative extraction rate (%) as at end October and November for the 2 and 213 crops 3 Sectors North East /Centre South West Island

4 MSIRI SUGAR CANE CROP 213 Status: 213 6//13 Figure 1 Evolution of extraction rate (%) for the 2 and 213 crops. NORTH WEST 1 1 EAST AND CENTRE ISLAND 1 1 SOUTH

5 MSIRI SUGAR CANE CROP 213 Status: 213 6//13 Sector-wise, extraction rates recorded to-date were 1.% in the North, 1.5% in the East- Centre, 1.64% in the South and.5% in the West. Compared to the corresponding period last year, cumulative extraction rate was higher in all the sectors, the advantage being.54 o in the North,.26 o in the East-Centre,.4 o in the South and.3 o in the West. From end October 213 to end November 213, extraction has increased marginally by.3 o in the North,.1 o in the West and.4 o in both the East-Centre and South sectors. The average island increase for the same period for the present crop reached only.5 o compared to.14 o for Sugar productivity (Table 2c) Island-wise, the recorded sugar productivity of.15 TSH was higher than that at the corresponding period in 2 (. TSH) by. tonne (.%). Sector-wise sugar productivity was.64 TSH in the North,.4 TSH in the East-Centre,.4 TSH in the South and.46 TSH in the West. Compared to the corresponding period in 2, sugar productivity to-date was lower in the North by.6 TSH and the East-Centre by.26 TSH, but higher in the other sectors by.52 TSH in the South and.4 TSH in the West. Table 2c Sugar productivity (TSH) as at end October and November for the 2 and 213 crops Sectors North East / Centre South West Island CROP PRODUCTIVITY 213 Weather during the month of November did not further favour ripening. Thus, extraction started to regress after a marginal increase in the first week of November. Cane yield is maintaining itself as there has been no further cane desiccation as was the case during the dry weather experienced. Thus, sugar yield stayed more or less constant. With % of miller planters land remaining to harvest, no major changes in productivity are expected by the end of the season. 4. CROP 214 Taking into consideration that the rainfall regime during the dry months of October and November are crucial for a good start of the annual cane cycle and that cumulative rainfall recorded to-date is well above the long-term mean, the initial conditions for the 214 crop are considered very satisfactory. 5