Victorias Milling Company posted a four percent decrease in its tons milled and a two percent increase in raw sugar output during the crop year 2006-2007, the Negros del Norte Planters Association Inc., which mills with VMC, said in its report.

In NDNPAI's report for crop year 2006-2007, its president Arsenio Al. Acuña said that during the period, VMC milled 3,149,030 tons canes and produced a total sugar production of 6,616,383 Lkgs.

The decrease in tons milled was 116,198 tons or four percent less than the previous years' volume of 3,365,228 tons.

This can be attributed to the long dry spell during the period and lesser inputs such as fertilizer due to prohibitive cost, the press statement said.

But it is significant to note, he said, that while VMC's gross tonnage for 2006-2007 decreased compared to the previous crop year, its raw sugar output of 6,616,383 Lkgs increased by 124,045 Lkgs or two percent more than the past crop year's production of 6,492,338 Lkgs.

Meanwhile, NDNPAI's gross tonnage production for crop year 2006-2007 totaled 387,720 gross tons while its gross sugar production reached 814,477 Lkgs or an equivalent of 12.31 percent of the entire VMC sugar production.

We attribute the increase in sugar production to better quality of canes delivered to the mill and better milling efficiency, especially its clean cane campaign, Acuña said in a press statement.

Most of all, it is also due to the more favorable weather condition which resulted in the very high Lkg tons cane average of 2.10 which represents an increase of 0.11 over the previous year's average of 1.99, he added.

For CYs 2005-2006 and 2006-2007, the percentage of contribution by district canes compared to non-district cane contribution remained at about 41 percent for both the mill's gross tonnage and sugar output.

VMC's final molasses production totaled 123,556 metric tons for CY 2006-2007, two percent or 2,346 MTs higher than last year's yield of only 121,210 MTs.

Of the total molasses production, the Victorias accounted for 40 percent or 48,945 MTs of the total district molasses output. NDNPAI, for its part, posted 10,895 MTs or 22 percent, the press statement added.*NLG

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