The fuel demanded by the producers and nucleros of the southern zone of Portuguesa to continue with the 2022-2023 sugarcane harvest was guaranteed by the National and regional governments, in response to the request made by the sector to be able to continue with the harvest and the transfer of production to the sugar mills of the state.
According to the executives and producers affiliated with the Association of Sugar Cane Producers of the South of Portuguesa (Asoprosur), the supply of fuel to the sector improved significantly, after they raised the need for timely supply of gasoline and diesel for both the field work and harvest processing.
José Prudencio Gutiérrez, president of the association, thanked the Executive for its support in terms of fuel supply for the productive sector of sugarcane, given that the harvest is in full swing and in the southern area of Portuguesa there is still a long way to go. harvest enough raw material for the production of about 50 million kilos of sugar.
He affirmed that after a month with serious supply problems, the producers and nucleros are restocking without setbacks, since there is availability of fuel in the distributor of the southern cone of Portuguesa (Discolpoca), located in Guanare, which guarantees continuity and the normal development of the harvest in the Guanare-Papelón axis.
Five daily diesel trucks
According to Rodolfo Cadet, director of the Association of Agricultural Services of Papelón-Guanare (Asapagua), during harvest times, five diesel trucks are required in the area per day: one for field work, one for the nucleros and three for the central.
The demand for the remainder of the season, which ends with the onset of rains in April-May, is 14 million liters in total.
The scarcity of fuel prevented the normal development of the harvest in the Guanare-Papelón axis, south of Portuguesa, where the production of 900,000 tons of sugar cane is expected, which when processed becomes about 76 million kilos of sugar .
The situation was raised by representatives of the Block of Sugar Cane Growers Associations that live in the southern part of the state to the civil and military authorities of Portuguesa, represented by Amarilis Pérez, General Secretary of the Government, and José Gregorio Escalona, commander of the Operational Zone. of Integral Defense (Zodi) 33. The answer was satisfactory.
The centrals continue without paying
After having guaranteed the supply of fuel, the problem that producers in the southern area of Portuguesa now face is that some mills still do not pay them for the cane they brought in last harvest and that debt limits their ability to cover the costs of the current harvest .
Gutiérrez, in his capacity as president of Asoprosur, reiterated the request to Governor Primitivo Cedeño to intercede in the face of the insolvency of the mills, since the producers and nucleros need timely payment to have the resources to purchase the fuel. “We already have the fuel, now we need resources,” he commented.
