Phnom Penh Sugar will begin producing white sugar this month for the Cambodian market to reduce the demand for imported sugar, according to a spokeswoman for the firm.

Chheang Kemsoun, a representative of Phnom Penh Sugar, told the Post yesterday the company would produce white sugar for sale locally as it had grown 40,000 hectares of sugar cane.

“The factory will start manufacturing white sugar on November 19. The equipment has been installed,” she said. The factory is in Kampong Speu province.

Chheang Kemsoun said about 70 tonnes of sugar cane a hectare would be harvested and 10 per cent of the harvest  processed into white sugar.

Another sugar factory will begin operating in the northeastern provinces soon.

According to Kratie provincial govenor Sar Chumrong, the factory will be able to produce 7,000 tonnes of white sugar and 500 tonnes of cane sugar a day.

It will also produce 20,000 litres of ethanol a day and 26 megawatts of electricity.

“The factory will use six megawatts of energy and the other 20 megawatts will be purchased by the Electricity Authority of Cambodia,” Sar Chumrong said.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that in 2010, Cambodia exported 10 million kilograms of white sugar to England and imported about 23 million kilograms from Thailand, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

The Ministry of Commerce did not have data available for the export and import of sugar this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rann Reuy at [email protected]