Consejo Estatal del Azúcar (CEA)

After the dictator Rafael L. Trujillo’s death in 1961, the assets of Corporación Dominicana de Centrales Azucareras (CDCA), the holding company controlled by the dictator which owned twelve sugar mills and whose interest represented 63% of the total sugar industry, became the property of the Dominican State by virtue of Law No. 6106 of November 14, 1962.  On August 19, 1966, the Dominican Government created the Consejo Estatal del Azúcar (CEA) or the State Sugar Council as an autonomous body whose objective was the coordination and efficient operation of the sugar mills, lands and other interests acquired by the State from the CDCA in 1962.

The CEA closed down Ingenios Catarey and Esperanza in 1987 and continued to operate the other ten sugar mills, but through the years its operations eventually created a condition of insolvency.  The financial crisis of the CEA was of such magnitude that by 1998 it had accumulated a capital deficit of approximately US$200 million while its capital accounts totaled only some $76 million.  Its operations were subsidized by the Dominican Government to the tune of US$45 million annually. In a re-capitalization effort in 1999, the CEA decided to lease the ten sugar mills it had operated since 1966.  As a result, the four entities in the following bullet list were favored with 30-year leases of the ten sugar mills and their related assets.  Most of the assets leased have since been taken back by the CEA.  Of the ten sugar mills, only Ingenio Barahona is in operation by its lessor and Ingenio Porvenir was taken back by the CEA who still operates it.

  • Consorcio Azucarero del Caribe SA - was organized by Mexican enterprise ZUCARMEX to acquire by public tender 5 of the 12 sugar mills owned by the CEA with total daily milling capacity of 19,777 short tons or approximately 60% capacity of the CEA owned mills and 31% of all sugar mills in the country.  The mills awarded the Consorcio Azucarero del Caribe SA were:​​

    • Ingenio Consuelo - had a milling capacity of 4,600 tons per day.  Its last production year was 2006.  In 2011, it was dismantled and sold in China for scrap.  Its facilities were donated by the CEA to the ONG Fundación Pringamosa who today operates a metallurgical industry where the shop used to be.

    • Ingenio Quisqueya - its last production year was 1995-1996, it never resumed operations after being leased, all that is left is the chimney.

    • Ingenio Boca Chica - operated until 2007, it has since been demolished and all that is left is the chimney and a Baldwin steam locomotive on a plinth inside a children playground.

    • Ingenio Rio Haina - it had ceased to operate by 2007.

    • Ingenio Ozama - operated until 1988, its only remains are the chimney and an administrative block now part of Liceo Calixta Reyes.

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  • Consorcio Agroindustrial Cañabrava C por A - was established in 2000 to acquire 2 mills in the northern part of the country with a milling capacity of 2,721 mt daily which represented 9% of the public mills capacity and 4% of capacity at National level.  Its principal shareholder was Venezualan born Julio Hazim, a local doctor, businessman, sports promoter and local professional baseball team owner and TV producer.  Cañabrava had substantial loans with Banco Internacional (Baninter) which failed in 2003.  In 2006, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic as liquidator of Baninter, assumed all the assets of Consorcio Agroindustrial Cañabrava.​

    • Ingenio Monte Llano - its last year of operation was 2005 in 2012 the sugar mill was leased to US based Consorcio Azucarero & Biocombustible Quisqueya (Cabioqui) who promised to invest RD$40 million and resume operations in a year’s time, but that never happened.  It was acquired back by the CEA in 2015 as the result of a court action against Consorcio Agroindustrial Cañabrava C por A and Consorcio Azucarero & Biocombustible Quisqueya  (Cabioqui).

    • Ingenio Amistad - its last milling season was 1999, never operated while in the ownership of Cañabrava.  Baninter liquidators agreed in 2011 to sell Amistad facilities and machinery as scrap to a private company, move that means the sugar mill will never operate again.

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  • Consorcio Azucarero Central (CAC) - the CAC was granted rights to lease and operate one sugar mill.  The CAC was originally 49% local capital and 51% owned by the Consorcio Dominicano Franco Americano comprised of Consorcio Azucarero Central, Sucden, Amerop, Angel Alfonzo Casasnovas Guidecelli, Nivoni Juan Santoni and Nicomar, S. A.  According to their website www.cac.com.do, since 2000 it is owned by a group of Dominican and Guatemalan investors. ​

    • Ingenio Barahona - It is the only sugar mill that has operated uninterruptedly since 1999 when the CEA decided to lease its sugar mills in a recapitalization effort.

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  • Central Azucarera del Este C por A - the original Lease Agreement signed 12/1/1999 was between the CEA, Central Azucarera de Este C. por A. and Central Pringamosa C. por A.  Subsequent to Pringamosa winning the initial bid, it organized as its succesor Central Azucarera del Este C. por A. of which it owned 93%.  The principal owner of Pringamosa was Miguel Chinchilla Varona.  The additional owners brought in to form Central Azucarera del Este C. por A. were Nelson Aybar Aponte, Hacienda Luisita C. por A., Nelson Aybar C. por A., Ricardo Aybar Dionisio, Diego Casasnovas C. por A., Pringamosa C. por A., Agropecuaria Linnat S A, Juan Antonio Giraldez Casasnovas and Nicolás Casasnovas.

    • Ingenio Porvenir - In 2010 its grinding capacity was 3,200 tons of sugarcane per day.  In the 2015-2016 milling season, it produced 15,413 MT of raw sugar.  Its last milling season under the Central Azucarera del Este was 2006-2007.  In 2010 after cancelling its lease to Central Azucarera del Este, the CEA leased Ingenio Porvenir to Azucarera Porvenir S. R. L., owned by the Spanish firm Azucarera del Gualdafeo.  Beginning in 2012 a lawsuit between the CEA and Azucarera Porvenir is being argued.  In January 2014, the CEA began managing Porvenir as a court appointed administrator until the case is decided.  ​

    • Ingenio Santa Fé - see Central Romana, it was closed down in 2010, sugarcane grown on lands formerly of Ingenio Santa Fé are being processed at Ingenio Porvenir.