The manufacturing of raw sugar from cane is a highly technical process which requires large and costly manufacturing equipment .There are eight main stages involved.

• After the cane has been weighed, it is tipped into the cane carrier which then conveys it to a set of knives and a shredder which chops and shreds the cane into a fibrous material. The inner core, now exposed, contains the stored sucrose in cane.
   

• Pairs of rollers feed the shredded cane into a series of mills. Each mill consists of three large rollers, each weighing as much as 15 tonnes, arranged in a triangular formation so that the cane is crushed twice at each mill. A recent innovation at Lautoka Mill uses the diffusion process to extract juice. Juice extracted from the cane is pumped into the milling process and the remaining partially dry fibrous material (bagasse) is used as fuel for the boilers.
   

• The raw juice is treated by heating and adding lime. This separates the mud and impurities from the juice .The clear juice is decanted.
   

• The muddy juice is filtered under vacuum. The juice is returned for processing and the mud is returned to the field as fertilizer.
   

• The clear juice is concentrated to syrup by evaporating most of the water from it under vacuum in a series of connected vessels called evaporators.
   

• The syrup, now about 70% solids, is again boiled under vacuum, this time in huge containers called vacuum pans where more water is evaporated when the syrup is sufficiently concentrated, crystals reach a predetermined size, the crystal and syrup mixture is released through the bottom of the pan.
   

• The syrup and crystal mixture is then spun in centrifugals to separate the crystals. Centrifugals are baskets which spin in a casing at high speed. The dark syrup surrounding the crystals is thrown off through the perforations. The spun-off syrup is boiled again and more raw sugar crystals are recovered. This procedure is repeated two or three times until further extraction is not worth while. The small amount (2500 tonnes) is used by South Pacific Distilleries (a subsidiary of FSC Ltd) for processing into industrial spirits and alcohol at its Lautoka Plant. A small amount is used in Fiji as stock feed by some cattle farmers.
   

• The raw sugar from the centrifugals is dried by tumbling it through a stream of hot air in a drum. It is then cooled down with cold air before being stored awaiting bulk shipment overseas. Penang Mill's sugar, on the other hand, is bagged for locals and Pacific Island sales.