HAVANA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's 2016-2017 sugar harvest concludes this week with a production increase of 20 percent compared to the previous season, stated officials from the government-run Azcuba Sugar Group, quoted by the Granma daily.
Liobel Perez, a specialist from Azcuba, indicated that this campaign involved 54 factories, and that 42 saw greater yields than in 2015-16. The net production increase was also seen in 11 of the 13 provinces participating in the harvest.
Azcuba Vice-President, Noel Casanas, pointed out that despite the increase in sugar production, the country still missed its annual growth target by 15 percent.
Among the causes of the failure, Casanas mentioned the intense drought affecting the whole country, which meant less cane was harvested to be ground, leading to a smaller overall yield.
Casanas also referred to problems in the organization and direction of the harvest, and transportation difficulties, which caused delays in the raw material being supplied to the mills.
Azcuba had planned a high new target and counted on four new factories, upgraded with harvesting equipment, and better conditions to increase industrial output.
Concerning the production of derivatives, Azcuba officials said there had been a "good performance," especially in the manufacturing of animal feed, which has reached 199,000 tons so far, marking 48 percent increase over the previous year.
