Cameroon: Sugarcane, an Industry Worth Developing

Sugarcane and cereals belong to the class of monocots, the order Scitaminales, the suborder Gramineae (grasses), the family Panicoideae (Poaceae), and the subfamily Cannaceae. Sugarcane further belongs to the tribe Saccharideae.

Uses of sugarcane

Sugarcane is a source of sucrose contained in its stalk - hence its value. A distinction is made between chewing cane and industrial cane.

Chewing cane

Chewing cane is quite different from industrial cane; it comprises special varieties with average yield but an exceptional ability to regrow, requiring very careful cultivation. Since the sweet juice is extracted by chewing the cane directly, after peeling off the bark, it needs to have tender bark, low fiber content, and sufficient thickness. It must also be free of defects (such as tunnels caused by stem borer attacks, for example).

Industrial cane

Industrial sugarcane is grown to make sugar. But it is also used to make a considerable number of products that would be difficult to list exhaustively - from the juice on one hand, and from by-products on the other. Uses from cane juice include:

Sugars

Sugars are obtained from the juice, following a series of processing steps in the factory. There are several types of sugar, depending on how they're made and their degree of sucrose purity; they are also distinguished by color:

• Mill sugars:

Brown sugars: 94 to 98.5% sucrose

Blond sugars: 98.5 to 99.5% sucrose

White sugars: 99.5 to 99.9% sucrose.

• Refined sugars:

At least 99.95% sucrose.

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