How much organic sugar cane grows on a hectare?
It varies. There are many factors that go into calculating the per hectare yield of organically grown sugar cane. The weather, the soil conditions and the “seed stock” all play a part. In general, organic yields are less per hectare than conventionally grown, where production is manipulated, if you will, by the application of herbicides, pesticides, defoliants. On average, a single acre hectare can produce about 90 metric tons of organic cane or 9 metric tons of organic sugar. (A “metric ton” is an industrial description for sugar weight; a metric ton weighs about 2205 pounds). In 2001, Wholesome Sweeteners’ first year of operation under the Billington’s/Imperial Sugar partnership, we bought 3,000 metric tons of organic sugar from Paraguayan farmers. In 2010, Wholesome bought nearly 40,000 metric tons of organic sugar from Paraguay. More than an increase in sugar demand and production, these numbers reflect a more than 10-fold increase in organic cane cultivation in Paraguay alone–fro
