MARKETING MOLASSES AND OTHER BY- PRODUCTS Molasses and other by-products have played an important complementary role in the beet and cane sugar industries. This chapter describes the most important by-products of both industrial processes, delineating their main markets during the past years. Recent trends and the future outlook in production and prices are also analyzed. The market potential of by-products and wastes from sugar factories has received special attention in several countries in times of low sugar prices and more expensive energy sources. It has been stated that "a diversified sugar industry that not only manufactures sugar and molasses, but also produces electricity, ethanol, and many other co-products will tend to spread the risks" (Rivero, 1986, p. 11). MAJOR BY-PRODUCTS: BEET PULP, MOLASSES, BAGASSE AND FILTER MUD Describing all by-products of the sugar industry is beyond the scope of this chapter. Since some of them are not even marketed, the emphasis falls on the most important ones as described by Freivalds (1975) and Paturau (1969), who have also delineated the principal markets contained in the next section. Beet pulp and molasses are the by-products of the beet sugar industry. Beet pulp, a fibrous by-product, is very watery in its original form having only 11 percent dry matter. Drying reverses the ratios, with moisture reduced to 12 or 15 percent. Most beet pulp processors use a standard figure of 6 percent of the total beets processed that yields the dried beet pulp. Beet cane molasses is very similar to cane molasses in terms of composition and uses, the minor difference being a lower content of nonsugar substances and ash and a higher sugar content in cane molasses. The by-products of the sugar cane extraction process are shown in Fig. 7.1. The most important by-products, which also serve as raw materials for others, are molasses, bagasse and filter mud. Although their