July 27, 2002 |
July 27, 2002 |
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Today's ECHO activities brought to you by
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 Sugar Cane growing near Tebicuary |
On a cold winter day the ECHO 2002 participants toured the Azucarera Paraguaya sugar plant where organic sugar is produced for the United States market. Due to the overnight rain the 45 minute short route was impassable and the alternate route took nearly 2 hours. It was hard to imagine the road conditions on the short route since the road we took seemed questionable at times.
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The plant's sugar making process begins with the cane delivery. Sweetness, impurities and moisture content is measured by taking a core sample of each truck load of cane. After the cane is weighed it is unloaded into a washer that tumbles the cane stalks in warm water to wash off dirt and dust. |
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After the liquid from the cane is extracted it is heated to evaporate the water. The crystallized sugar is dried in a centrifuge before being bagged. |
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Since 1910 the plant has
produced sugar products including white sugar, organic sugar, sugar cubes,
alcohol for fuel, carbonic gas for soft drinks, rectified alcohol, compressed
yeast, and molasses.
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 Retail sized packages of sugar products made at the sugar plant |
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The group was invited by the Bosch family to a BBQ in the Paraguayan hills one hour from the plant. The view was spectacular. |
