Four-member Fiji team visits NSI

Kanpur: A four-member delegation from Fiji headed by Director, Planning, Policy & Research, Ministry of Sugar Industry, Reshmi Kumari visited National Sugar Institute on Wednesday. The delegation which also included Chief Executive Officer, Fiji Sugar Corporation and Chairman, Sugar Research Institute of Fiji visited institute to explore possibilities of seeking National Sugar Institute’s assistance in modernization and development of the sugar industry in Fiji.
While welcoming the delegates, a presentation about the activities of the Institute was given by Narendra Mohan, Director, National Sugar Institute. He also briefed the delegates from Fiji about recent developments in the Indian Sugar Industry for making it financially sustainable. He informed the delegates about the measures taken by the Indian Sugar Industry to reduce energy consumption and losses of sugar during processing, enhance sugarcane and sugar productivity, sugar quality improvement and diversification for making many value added products from the by-products of the sugar industry.
Indian Sugar Industry is working on generating more revenue streams through utilization of by products in an innovative manner rather than depending upon the revenues from sugar only and this model may be beneficial for Fiji Sugar Industry as well, he said.
The delegates visited various laboratories and other facilities to get the first hand information about the academic and research facilities and also the innovative technologies developed by the Institute for commercialization.
“Our efficiencies are much lower resulting in higher sugar losses during processing and to run the sugar factories we have to source the fuel from outside, whereas, Indian Sugar factories save bagasse after meeting their own requirements. National Sugar Institute has a proven track record and can help Fiji Sugar Industry in modernization of the plants, thus, increasing efficiency and reducing cost of production,” said Reshmi Kumari, Director, Planning, Policy & Research, Ministry of Sugar Industry.
We will also explore possibilities of conducting training programmes for our sugar factory personnel to refresh their knowledge and make them aware about the latest trends in sugar processing and byproduct utilization, she said.