SUGAR RUSH - One by-product of global trade negotiations is forcing sugar growers to become power generators, using by-products of their own

The recent reforms initiated by the World Trade Organization (WTO) have made it possible for some of the world´s most disadvantaged countries to become leaders in environmentally friendly power generation from biomass. In their search for ways to modernize and generate more profit, the sugar industries in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) have discovered the possibility of producing renewable energy by generating electricity from burning bagasse. If sugar mills become ethanol producers, this could lead to the production of competitive and ecologically sound biofuels