Petropar officially kicked off the 2026 sugarcane harvest at its alcohol plant in Mauricio José Troche, Guairá department. The first trucks loaded with sugarcane began arriving at the facility on Tuesday after undergoing weighing checks and lab analyses to verify raw-material quality.
State company president William Wilka confirmed that the price paid to growers will be the same as last year: G. 245,000 per tonne. He also announced a G. 5,000 increase in the incentive bonus, aiming to encourage greater cane deliveries. Petropar expects to receive between 350,000 and 400,000 tonnes this season, depending on crop yields and operating conditions.
Wilka noted that the early start of milling in May responds to a request from growers and to instructions from President Santiago Peña. The harvest is regarded as an economic engine for hundreds of families in Guairá and Caaguazú, including cane growers, hauliers, workers and local traders. According to the Troche Sugarcane Growers Association, about 1,800 producers are registered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, and more than 50,000 families would benefit indirectly from the plant.
The plant’s modernisation project, however, remains stuck. Wilka said installation of the new milling tandem is still suspended by a court injunction that blocks new construction or improvements at the industrial unit. The tender process, launched in February, had to be postponed because of the injunction. The state company is evaluating alternatives to unlock the investment, but for now the dispute remains in the courts.
Given the uncertainty, Petropar will repeat the arrangement used in the previous harvest: if the old tandem develops technical problems, part of the cane will be diverted to private mills. “The idea is for growers to have peace of mind that 100% of what they harvest can be delivered, whether it is milled here at Petropar or sent to another mill,” Wilka said.
Cane growers’ union president Cristian Fonseca said the bonus adjustment reflects the sector’s needs, taking into account production costs and external factors such as last summer’s droughts.