Reflecting on the Plantationocene: the political economy of sugarcane plantations in Guangxi, China

Figures & data

Figure 1. Area of sugarcane production in Guangxi (1980–2020). Source: National Bureau of Statistics.

Figure 2. Patchwork landscape of sugarcane plantations in Guangxi. Source: google earth.

Figure 3. Distribution of farmland area in B Village.

Notes: total farmland area of the village = 206.6 ha (3100 mu); total number of households = 118. Data source: Field notes, 8 January 2016.

Table 1. Labor and input costs for sugarcane production.

Cost	Task/Item	Amount	Unit	Total cost per truckload (equivalent to 3 mu)
Labor cost	Cutting	1	Yuan per bundle	1000
	Carrying	0.3	Yuan per bundle	300
	Loading	350	Yuan per truck	350
	Planting	110	Yuan per mu	330
	Fertilizing	1bag *10 yuan * 3 = 30	Yuan per mu	90
	Subtotal			2070
Cost of inputs	Rental of farm machinery	110	Yuan per mu	330
	Fertilizer	3*150 = 450	Yuan per mu	1350
	Herbicide	10	Yuan per mu	30
	Pesticide	45	Yuan per mu	135
	Subtotal			1845
Total				3915

Source: Fieldwork, January 2016.

Notes: This cost excludes land rents. There are 1000 bundles of sugarcane in a truck, equivalent to 15 tons, and produced from 3mu farmland. Price is for the 2015/2016 cutting season in F County. The labor cost was calculated based on the cheapest labor price when employing migrant labor from Vietnam.

Table 2. Zone areas for each sugar company in F County, 2020.

Zones	Areas (1000 mu)	Number of towns/townships covered
Zone 1 for a foreign company	570	8
Zone 2 for a private company	480	4
Zone 3 for a state-owned company	52	2
Zone 4 for a state farm	16.3	1

Source: Wu (2020, 92).

Table 3. Measures taken by sugar companies under the zoning scheme in Guangxi.

Process	Measures	Aims of corporations
Production	Subsidies for changing land use to sugarcane production Technical support (e.g., training, subsidies for plastic cover and related machines) ‘Lending’ seedlings and fertilizers Categorized price system	To ensure sufficient and high-quality supply of raw materials To standardize the production process
Harvest	Sugarcane tickets	To control the cutting process and ensure the steady, sustained, and timely supply of raw materials
Distribution	Setting price	To control outputs

Note: in Guangxi, one bundle = 15 kilogram.

Data source: field notes in 2016 and online interviews in 2020.

Figure 4. Sugarcane price and plantation area in Nanhua Mill, Guangxi (2001–2017). Data source: NanHua Sugar Mill (field notes in 2016, 2018 and online interviews in 2020).

Table 4. Labor price of sugarcane cutters in Guangxi.

	Place of origin	Labor price
Mid-1990s	A County; T County	40–50 yuan/day
2010	Guizhou, Yunnan	1.2 yuan/bundle
2011–2019	Vietnam	1.0–1.5 yuan/bundle
Covid-19 pandemic period	Local villagers	2.2 yuan/bundle

Wu, Cunyu. 2020. “Crop Booms in China: Based on the Perspective of State, Market and Farmers——A qualitative study of the sugarcane industry in Guangxi “. PhD Dissertation. China Agricultural University.

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