ISLAMABAD, Feb 6: Pakistan will make history this week by exporting one of the world's largest sugarcane crushing mill to Louisiana, USA.

According to an Engineering Development Board (EDB) press release it has been manufactured by Qadbros Engineering, a private sector company in Lahore, which is specialised in manufacturing of bigger sugar mills. Besides being the manufacturer of most of the 85 sugar factories within the country, the firm for the last five years, has been exporting heavy plant and equipment for sugarcane crushing to customers in five continents of the world, including North America, Central and Latin America, Africa, Europe and South East Asia.

The rapidly intensifying energy crisis that grips the world today has generated tremendous worldwide interest in renewable sources of energy. One of the major sources of renewable energy is cane processing and distillation industry, which produces ethanol as a by-product or as its main product.

Accordingly, the world's cane processing and distillation industry is witnessing an upheaval in terms of new capacity addition. With Brazil leading the increase in sugarcane crushing and distillation capacity worldwide, this scenario has led to an unprecedented rise in demand for cane crushing plant and equipment.

According to a conservative estimate, the world's sugarcane crushing capacity would be increased by more than 200 million tons by the year 2012.

This tremendous increase in the demand for sugarcane factory plant and equipment is shaping up at a time when most of the few remaining recognised European, American and Australian manufacturers of sugarcane crushing plants have closed down due to years of recession within the sugar industry resulting from depressed sugar prices, high cost of heavy equipment manufacture, and environmental issues.

Mr Jahangir Khan Tareen, the federal minister for industries, production and special initiatives will be the chief guest at the unveiling ceremony arranged by the manufacturer on Saturday.