Assessing the value and feasibility of alternative cane supply scheduling in the sezela mill supply area : Report to South African sugar Association Experiment Station, Mount Edgecombe, South Africa

In the South African sugar industry sugarcane is traditionally delivered to the various mills uniformly over the milling season and across all supply areas. This type of delivery schedule does not always exploit the different cane quality patterns that exist in certain mill supply areas. These regional differences in 'recoverable value' of sugar patterns (RV) are primarily due to soil and climate differences and resulting differences in agronomic practices. The two studies conducted in 2002 and 2003 investigated mainly the value of modifying cane supply scheduling in the Sezela mill area. Both studies showed the potential profitability that could be reached by simulating various scenarios of harvest window reduction applied to a four-zone partition of the mill supply area. Stakeholders agreed at the end of the second study that this part was now completed, but new issues were raised for further investigation. It has been decided to investigate some of these issues in relation to the proposed changes in cane delivery pattern