June 2022 - Sugarcane Industry

29 June, 2022

The Guatemalan Sugar reaches 43 countries

Sugar from Guatemala sweetened 43 countries in 2021. Last year, sugar and its byproducts represented 4% of the country’s total exports, equivalent to 520 million dollars in foreign currency for the country.

The main countries to which Guatemalan Sugar was exported in 2021 were the United States, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan, Haiti, Libya, Jamaica, Italy, Ghana, and Malaysia.

By continent, the main export destinations for Guatemalan sugar are America with 50%, Africa with 15%, Asia with 22%, Europe with 11% and Oceania with 2%.

Of the exports of the Guatemalan Sugar Industry in 2021, 65.7% was sugar, 22.4% alcohol and 11.9% molasses.

Waste is transformed and reused for export

The Guatemalan Sugar Industry takes advantage of their residues, which are transformed to be reused. This is the case of alcohol or ethanol, which is produced with molasses and 55 million gallons are produced each year, most of which are exported.

Guatemalan ethanol is used for cosmetics, pharmaceutical products, liquor production and as a fuel. The five main countries where this product was exported in 2021 were: The Netherlands, the United States and its territories, Mexico, Switzerland, and El Salvador.

In addition, during the sugar production process, other types of honey or molasses are also exported and according to data from the Bank of Guatemala in 2021, 72.5% went to the United States; 13.9% to the United Kingdom; 5.5% to Guyana; 5.2% to the Netherlands and 3% to Canada.

Sugar from Guatemala and its byproducts are the second largest export agro-industrial product in Guatemala and one of the main products exported by the country.

17 June, 202223 June, 2022

Fundazucar celebrates 32 years of promoting health, education, and development on the South of Guatemala

32 years ago, the Guatemalan Sugar Industry joined forces and created the Sugar Foundation -Fundazucar-, which was born as the dream of a group of visionary businessmen who bet on education to promote development on the South of Guatemala.

Fundazucar is the social arm of the Guatemalan Sugar Industry, since 1990 it promotes the integral development of the communities, working with women, youth, health workers, teachers, community leaders and municipal authorities as agents of change.

At the Guatemalan Sugar Industry, we celebrate the 32nd anniversary of Fundazucar, which believes in development through training, an example of which is Better Families, a model that promotes Food and Nutritional Security, self-esteem, self-management and leadership in women, as agents of change for the development and well-being of their families and their communities and has trained more than 532 thousand women.

The program has been so successful that it was implemented in Honduras and is currently being adopted by the municipalities of Escuintla, Masagua, La Gomera, La Democracia, Tiquisate in the department of Escuintla, as well as in San Lorenzo and San Jose el idolo, in Suchitepequez.

During these 32 years, the Sugar Foundation has provided training to thousands of people and has contributed to the development and well-being of the communities with comprehensive community development plans and the preparation of technical projects for the construction of drinking water systems. and drains.

Fundazucar has also facilitated access to health for thousands of people through specialized clinics located in Escuintla.

Thanks to the commitment and effort of the team of social managers who bring training and development to remote communities on the South of Guatemala, Fundazucar has positioned itself as an example and benchmark in community development projects at a national and international level.

We congratulate Fundazucar on its 32nd anniversary and the leaders who had the vision to create the social arm of the Guatemalan Sugar Industry.

9 June, 202223 June, 2022

Sugar producers from Central America launch campaign to prevent child labor

The Sugar Producers of the Central American Isthmus Association (AICA) and the sugar organizations of the six countries in the region launched the campaign “Yo te cuido!” (I take care of you!) with the aim of cont raising awareness about the importance of preventing child labor in the sector.

“In Guatemala we promote the Better Families program to eradicate Child Labor and promote actions from the family so that children attend school and have a life full of joy and learning,” said Maria Silvia Pineda, director of the Guatemalan Sugar Foundation –Fundazucar-.

Through workshops, talks, coordination meetings, contests and multiple information materials, the campaign aims to reach, among others, workers, sugarcane producers, as well as members of the communities in the areas of influence of the sugar sector throughout the Central American region.

The campaign will provide information about child labor, the negative causes and effects, the legal consequences, also with data and promoting a paradigm based on respect and care for childhood and adolescence.

According to Juan Carlos Fernandez, Executive Director of AICA, “the sugar sector has implemented multiple and successful programs and initiatives against child labor throughout Central America for several years, with which it has managed to change the reality of the sector. This campaign advances in the consolidation of the results that have been obtained”.

Promoter Associations

This 2022 child labor prevention campaign is promoted by the Sugar Producers of the Central American Isthmus Association (AICA) and its member organizations: the Guatemalan Sugar Producers Association (Asazgua), the Sugar Association of El Salvador, the Association of Sugar Producers of Honduras (APAH), the National Committee of Sugar Producers of Nicaragua (CNPA), the Industrial Agricultural League of Sugar Cane of Costa Rica (LAICA) and the Association of Sugar and Alcohol of Panama (AZUCALPA)

In addition, it has the technical support of the International Labor Organization (ILO), as well as the collaboration of the Coca-Cola Company and the Central American Integration Network for Corporate Social Responsibility (INTEGRARSE).

7 June, 20227 June, 2022

Local and subnational governments and the application of the GFB 2030 through transformative actions

We invite you to register and participate in the event “Local and subnational governments and the application of the GFB 2030 through transformative actions” organized by the framework convention on biological diversity, which aims to discuss and exchange experiences for the development of sustainable projects in the present and for the future.

Representatives of local and national governments, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, activists and stakeholders in the biodiversity agenda will participate, WBio2022. The agenda: WBIO2022_Program

WBio2022 Agenda

3 June, 20224 June, 2022

The Guatemalan Sugar Industry will reach in 2022 more than 7.7 million trees reforested

The Guatemalan Sugar will reforest 900 thousend trees in 2022

The Guatemalan Sugar Industry together with the Private Institute for Climate Change Research -ICC- and local partners carried out the program for the recovery and conservation of forests for the eleventh consecutive year, with the planting of 900,000 trees in 400 hectares of land with species such as: cedar, mahogany, Ear Pod Tree, Picconia excelsa, pine, cypress, cocoa, among others.

“With this year’s reforestation plan, the Guatemalan Sugar Industry will have contributed to the planting of 7.7 million trees since the beginning of the Program in 2011. As part of our commitment to the environment, during these 11 years we have joined efforts with communities, local authorities, and organizations, for the conservation and recovery of forests on riverbanks and upper parts of basins”, commented Alfredo Vila, President of the Association of Sugar Producers of Guatemala -Asazgua-.

The Reforestation Plan began with the planting of 300 trees on a farm Called Belem, jurisdiction of Masagua, Escuintla, located at 370 kilometers (230 miles) in the south of Guatemala City. With this activity, the reforestation season officially begins, and will last until August.

It will be carried out in 10 departments of the country: Santa Rosa, Chimaltenango, Escuintla, Suchitepéquez, Retalhuleu, Jalapa, Sololá, Sacatepéquez, Jutiapa and Quetzaltenango.

The production of the trees was in more than 50 nurseries installed in 30 municipalities in 10 departments of the country, “these nurseries are municipal, regional, business owned and community owned,” explained Dr. Alex Guerra, director of the ICC. “The ICC provides seeds, supplies and technical advice in conjunction with INAB,” he added. These is with the financing provided by the Guatemalan Sugar Industry.

More than 310 hectares of land have been reforested by the Guatemalan Sugar Industry initiative on the banks of the rivers on the South of Guatemala alone, equivalent to more than 430 soccer fields, creating gallery forests and biological corridor.

These forests on the banks of rivers help water recharge, soil conservation by preventing erosion and are also natural barriers that prevent flooding and are also home to species of plants and animals.