{"id":12899,"date":"2026-04-26T14:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=12899"},"modified":"2026-04-25T12:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T17:06:24","slug":"panama-bioethanol-attracts-four-sugar-mill-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/investments\/panama-bioethanol-attracts-four-sugar-mill-investors\/","title":{"rendered":"Panama Bioethanol Attracts Four Sugar Mill Investors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Panama City, Panama – At least four sugar mills have expressed interest in producing Bioethanol<\/a> in Panama. The National Energy Secretary confirmed this development during ongoing legislative debates. The discussions center on Bill 443, which proposes mandatory ethanol blending with gasoline.<\/p>\n

The four companies include Santa Rosa (Azucarera Nacional), Grupo Calesa (Compa\u00f1\u00eda Azucarera La Estrella, S.A.), Central Azucarera de Alanje, and Central Azucarera La Victoria. National Energy Secretary Rodrigo Rodr\u00edguez provided this information during the bill’s second debate at the National Assembly of Panama<\/a>. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n

Family Links Raise Questions at Alanje Sugar Mill<\/h2>\n

Central Azucarera de Alanje has drawn particular attention. The company belongs to the family of Panama’s current Comptroller General, Anel Flores. Corporate records show significant board changes occurred in November 2024.<\/p>\n

A shareholder meeting approved removing Anel Humberto Flores de la Lastra from his director and president positions. His brother, Alejandro Bosco Flores de la Lastra, took over as the new director president. The meeting also appointed Andr\u00e9s Alberto Flores Icaza, the comptroller’s son, as director treasurer. Nicol\u00e1s Alejandro Flores Arauz became director vocal, according to public registry documents. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n

These leadership changes have sparked debate about potential conflicts of interest. Critics question whether the comptroller’s family ties could influence regulatory oversight of the biofuel industry.<\/p>\n

\n

“The calculation is based on the multiplier effect of Sugarcane<\/a> cultivation, where for every direct job, around 2.5 indirect jobs are created. This relationship has been observed in countries like Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay and Mexico.” [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Rodrigo Cardenal, president of Az\u00facar Paseo from Grupo Calesa, made this statement during the assembly debate. He argued the industry could generate up to 30,000 direct and indirect jobs. Of that total, between 8,000 and 9,000 would be direct positions. The rest would come from the production chain.<\/p>\n

Implementation Timeline and Infrastructure Needs<\/h2>\n

Cardenal explained that the first 18 to 24 months after law approval would focus on preparation. This includes land design, irrigation system purchases, tractors, machinery, and industrial plant construction. “This will generate intensive employment during the installation phase,” he stated. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n

Current sugar mills already generate over 2,000 direct jobs each. These range from field workers to specialized technicians like agricultural engineers, mechanics, electricians, and laboratory personnel. Ethanol production would require additional staff in chemistry, quality control, and industrial safety.<\/p>\n

The project could also extend employment duration beyond the traditional harvest season. Better use of the dry season would create more stable year-round work.<\/p>\n

Environmental Transition and International Commitments<\/h2>\n

Environmental law specialist Harley Mitchell Moran noted a significant shift in the sugar industry. Recent years have seen a transition away from burning sugarcane fields. Agreements with the Ministry of Environment have produced administrative resolutions now in effect.<\/p>\n

“The trend is toward green sugarcane production, progressively reducing traditional burning practices. Many suppliers still use these methods under more conventional schemes,” Mitchell explained. [Translated from Spanish]<\/p>\n

This transformation has required industry investments. It has also reduced incidents associated with burning in recent years.<\/p>\n

Mitchell linked biofuel development to Panama’s international commitments. These include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, ratified through Law 10 of 1995. He stated public policies must balance emission reductions with protecting agriculture, commerce, and investment. The 2015 National Climate Change Strategy already includes promoting biofuels as a mitigation measure.<\/p>\n

The second debate on the bioethanol bill will resume on Monday, April 27.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panama City, Panama – At least four sugar mills have expressed interest in producing Bioethanol in Panama. The National Energy Secretary confirmed this development during ongoing legislative debates. The discussions center on Bill 443, which proposes mandatory ethanol blending with gasoline. The four companies include Santa Rosa (Azucarera Nacional), Grupo Calesa (Compa\u00f1\u00eda Azucarera La Estrella,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,30],"tags":[3952,3951,3950],"class_list":{"0":"post-12899","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-investments","8":"category-business-economy","9":"tag-bill-443","10":"tag-four-sugar-mills","11":"tag-panama-bioethanol"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12899"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12900,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12899\/revisions\/12900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}