Control and Arbitration Department – CAD – MCIA Mauritius Cane Industry Authority

Introduction

The Control and Arbitration Department (CAD) is a department of the Mauritius Cane Industry Authority (MCIA). It has replaced the former “Cane Planters and Millers Arbitration and Control Board” with the proclamation of the MCIA Act No.40 of 2011 on 19 March 2012.

The CAD is headed by a Director who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the department and for the execution of the policies of the Control and Arbitration Committee. The Director is assisted by an Assistant Director and other professionals.

History

Prior to 1937 relations between planters and millers in the Sugar Industry were sometimes impaired by disputes. These disputes revolved around a number of issues, including:

the sharing of sugar and by-products between the parties and the mode of payment
the weighing of canes
the quota allocation for the delivery of canes
the varieties and the quality of canes acceptable at factories
the efficiency of factories
the activities of intermediaries, known as middlemen

From time to time, enquiries were set up to look into those issues. Following some disturbances in 1937, a Commission of Enquiry presided by C.A Hooper was instituted to study the causes of the unrest. After investigation, the Commission made a series of recommendations in order to deal with the problems in that sector. Following these recommendations, the Cane Planters and Sugar Millers, Control Ordinance No. 27 was enacted in 1939. The Ordinance provided for the creation of a Central Board which responsible for the implementation of these recommendations and also to serve as a control and regulatory body. In 1973, the Central Board was renamed as the Cane Planters and Millers Arbitration and Control Board (CPMACB) pursuant to Act No.46 of 1973. The CPMACB was a division of the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security.

Current Situation

With the creation of the MCIA act in 2012, the MCIA has become the apex organization for the Cane Planters and Millers Arbitration and Control Board and the latter has been renamed as the Control and Arbitration Department – CAD.

Control and Arbitration Committee (CAC)

The composition of the Control and Arbitration Committee (CAC) is as follows:

Name	Position
Mr. Dheerendra Kumar Dabee, G.O.S.K	Chairperson
Mrs Geetawantee Ramnauth	Representative of the Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security
Mr. Jean Li Yuen Fong	Representatives of millers
Mr. Vhinaye Dookhony, P.M.S.M	Representative of large planters
Mr. Soobas Muniah	Representative of small planters
Mr. Amal Mungur	One representative of the Mauritius Cane Industry Authority Board

The Control and Arbitration Committee ensures the efficient and effective operation of the department and is not subject to the directions or controls of any other person.

Functions of the CAC

The main functions of the control and arbitration committee are to: –

Arbitrate disputes between planters and millers ;
Control the milling of canes and the manufacture of sugar;
Determine the quantity of sugar and co-products accruing to planters and millers; and
Execute the functions assigned to it under Parts IV, V, VI and VII of the MCIA Act.

Services Provided by the CAD

1. Registration of Cane Contracts

Section 28 of the MCIA Act (Provision relating to Cane Contracts) provides that cane contracts between planters and millers shall be entered into for any crop year on or before 31 May and forwarded to the Committee for registration not later than 15 June of that crop year.

Prior to the harvest season, the CAD, the SIFB and the millers provide a one-stop-shop service in the various factory areas for the registration of sugarcane plantations, signing of cane contracts and registration of the cane contracts. This one-stop-shop service enables planters to complete all formalities under one roof and obtain their registered cane contracts on the spot.

Documents needed for registration of cane are as follows:

- ID Card of the planter
- Utility Bill (CWA, CEB, CWA etc.)
- Previous SIFB

2. Final Road Rate

Pursuant to section 40 of the MCIA Act, “where the distance over which a planter’s canes are transported to a factory is greater than 6.4 kilometres, the miller shall” –

Where the transport is undertaken by the planter, reimburse to the planter the amount by which the cost of transport over that distance exceeds the cost of transport over 4 kilometres;
where the transport is undertaken by the miller, be refunded the cost of the cost the transport over the first 6.4 kilometres

The rate of refund (Final Assessment of Road Rate) is determined by the Control and Arbitration Committee.

3. Final Assessment of Scum

The Final assessment of Scum is based on the average quantity of scums produced by each factory per tonne of canes milled during the preceding crop year.

4. Sucrose Content Tests

The Control and Arbitration Department carries out sucrose content tests on the canes of planters at the CAD Laboratories. Cane consignments are sampled at the different cane transit sites and the samples collected are transported to the centralized laboratories for analysis.

Every year, any planter or group of planters having an amount of canes as specified by the Committee may apply for a separate sucrose content test in case, he wants his canes to be assessed separately. The last date for the submission of an application for a separate test is 15 March in any crop year. Application forms are available at the Head Office and may also be downloaded. Other documents required are:

SIFB card for the coming crop year (Original and photocopy)
Identity card (Original and photocopy)

The First, Second and Third Provisional Assessments enable planters to obtain financial advances from the Mauritius Sugar Syndicate for canes already delivered.

5. Price of Molasses

Since Crop 2014, no molasses is being exported by the Mauritius Molasses Company Limited. The determination of the average price of molasses paid to planters which was previously being done by the Mauritius Molasses Company Limited is now performed by the CAD.

With the amendments made to the Sugar Industry Efficiency Act in December 2016, the price of molasses payable to planters include the distiller/bottlers contribution of Rs. 40 levied per litre of absolute alcohol.

6. Weighbridge Calibrations and Checks

Section 32 of the MCIA Act stipulates that the Control and Arbitration Committee may require an employee to verify the accuracy of cane or sugar weighing machines wherever situated and the records kept by any person relating to the weighing of canes or sugar.

The CAD possesses two lorries equipped with crane and forty-five 1-tonne cubic metallic standard weights to carry out the accuracy verification of the weighbridges of the different sugar factories, Cane Transit Sites, the Bulk Sugar Terminal, the Bagged Sugar Storage and Distribution Co. Ltd. and the Refineries.

7. Complaints and Disputes

During any crop year, several complaints are officially received from sugarcane planters and lorry drivers. All complaints are usually attended to. Sometimes, Senior Technical Officers also resolve verbal complaints made by planters and lorry drivers at the various factory and cane transit sites. All complaints are registered by an officer of the CAD on a dedicated Complaints and Suggestion Book. Decision taken is communicated to the complainant and matter is closed when both parties are satisfied.

8. Value Added Products

The CAD also delivers the following permits to individual:

1. Authorisation to deliver canes to a person engaged in the production of “co-products”, including cane juice for direct consumption
2. Authorisation to use canes grown by planter to manufacture the types of sugars known as Khandasary and Jaggery

The rate applicable in both cases is as per the table below:

Weight of Sugarcane (Tons)	Price Applicable (Rs)
<= 10	2,000
>10	10,000

These applications are recommended to the Minister for his approval in conformity with Section 24 (3) of the MCIA Act 2011.

Documents needed:

- Letter of application from operator
- Letter of application from planter
- ID card of operator
- ID card of planter
- Utility bill of operator
- Site plan of sugar cane field of the planter
- SIFB card of planter

Cane Sampling and Analysis

Core sampler

The core sampler consists of a horizontal tube or probe fitted with a cutting crown at its tip. It can travel from 1 to 4 m above ground level. The probe is mounted on a platform which moves on rails to allow free to and fro movement of the equipment, thus enabling a sample to be taken at any point in the cane load. In operation, the probe penetrates the cane load diagonally at 45o . The sample remains inside the probe and is ejected by means of an internal piston.

Automatic Saccharimeter

This apparatus is used to measure the Pol or apparent sucrose content of the juice sample. The juice must first be clarified using basic lead acetate and then filtered. The clarified filtrate is poured into the funnel of the flow-through tube of the saccharimeter. The Pol reading is obtained on a digital display . The apparatus is connected to a printer and a computer to record the data. The accuracy of the instrument is regularly checked using standard quartz plates and distilled water.

Cane Analysis

The basic parameters for assessing the sucrose content of the cane are:

The Brix of the Juice
The Pol of the Juice
The Purity of the Juice
The Weight of the residual bagasse cake which gives the fibre % cane

First the load is probed diagonally at 450 by means of a core sampler. The sample can be taken on either side of the load.

The sample is reduced to a finely divided state by passing it through a shredding machine.

A 1 kg sub sample of the shredded cane is subjected to a pressure of 200 bars for 2 minutes in a hydraulic press to obtain the juice and a residual bagasse cake. The latter is weighed and the readings are automatically recorded to a computer.

The juice is divided into two portions for Brix, Pol and Purity determinations according to established procedures.

All measurements are recorded automatically in a computer.

Other data provided by the factory and the weighbridges are also used to determine the quantity of sugar, molasses and filter cake accruing to growers.

Infracana

The CAD has shifted to Near Infra-Red technology for the analysis of sugarcane samples. This method is rapid, reliable and requires minimal manual handling of cane samples.

The Infracana is also a transparent system where sample analysis can be seen from start to finish and requires no chemicals or reagents.

Control and Arbitration Department – CAD