In the midst of the difficulties of various kinds faced during the 2022-2023 sugar harvest in the province of Ciego de Ávila, the end of April brought the good news of being the only one in the country to comply with its sugarcane-planting plan from the stage of the first quarter of the year.

As Eduardo Larrosa Vázquez, director of coordination and technical supervision of Azcuba Sugar Group in the province reported to Invasor, a total of 1,855 hectares (ha) were planted in the territory, equivalent to 101 percent of what was planned for the period.

He added that the Agro-industrial Sugar Companies Ciro Redondo and Primero de Enero exceeded their commitment, while Ecuador and Enrique Varona were below.

The realization of this goal is very important, since it means that all this sweet grass brought to the furrows during the first months of the year can be ground in the next mill.

Regarding the current milling, the province remains at 74 percent of compliance with its sugar plan, a figure that has not been higher due to the occurrence of a series of imponderables such as the breakdown of the bioelectric plant near the Ciro Redondo plant during 35 days due to a trip due to the frequency of the National Electro-energy System (between February and the beginning of March), the incidence of rain and the effects on the fuel supply.

On the last subject, Larrosa Vázquez commented that this Thursday the stoppage of operations had been forced for six days due to the marked deficit that the country faces in the supply of diesel, which prevents the cutting and shooting of the cane from the fields to the jogger.

It is necessary to remember that in recent weeks tensions have been faced in the entry of oil tankers and its derivatives to the Greater Antilles due to difficulties with suppliers, and the vast majority of available energy carriers have been prioritized for the generation of electricity.

The province's strategy focuses on linking all the cane in the territory to the tipper of the modern Ciro Redondo factory, with emphasis on that located in areas of the Enrique Varona Agro-industrial Sugar Company, until the May rains allow the milling to develop.