Skip to main content

Reply to "PPP’s pledge to reopen shuttered sugar estates ‘foolishness’ - Badal"

Can Caribbean Sugar Make A Sweet Comeback?

According to the SAC, “a regional sugar industry supplying the needs of industrial users of sugar in the region makes sense– both to reduce import costs, support CARICOM industries, and provide long-term consistent pricing, beneficial to both buyer and seller.”

In April 2019, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) funded a study to determine whether locally produced plantation white would be suitable for regional manufacturing. The findings, which were reported at a sugar stakeholders’ meeting in Belize in October, revealed that soft drink makers Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé have been using plantation white sugar in manufacturing for some time and that this sugar could be used in manufacturing once production facilities make changes to processes, meeting requirements for colour and other impurities. This was a huge victory for the SAC.

“We import two-thirds of the estimated 320,000 tonnes of the refined sugar consumed annually within CARICOM,” said Daniel Best, CDB’s Director of Special Projects. “If plantation white can be substituted for refined white sugar, regional producers can capture a larger share of the sugar market and the region can save considerable foreign exchange.”

These findings have opened a market for 160,000 tonnes per annum of plantation white sugar and cut extra-regional imports of refined sugar, of about 200,000 tonnes per year.

Another hurdle that the sector will need to overcome is the high production cost of plantation white sugar, causing foreign sugar imports to be a more cost effective option. Producers have agreed to meet to discuss issues pertaining to the supply and price of the product.

Over the past two years, Guyana has closed three sugar estates and sent home approximately 4,000 workers, but in the wake of October’s sugar stakeholder meetings, it initiated plans to begin producing plantation white and Jamaica’s Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Audley Shaw, has recognized that the sector needs a revamp and more needs to be done. It is expected that these markets will soon begin producing liquid sugar for use in beverage factories.

In Barbados, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, the Honourable Indar Weir has been working on putting over 100 acres of Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC) land back into sugar production with special emphasis on drought-resistant strains of sugar cane.

“I fully support the capacity building efforts that are designed to transition the sugar industry to a full value chain development (VCD) project,” said Minister Weir. “This will provide us with new revenue streams along the full value chain so that all Barbadians can own shares in a new profitable entity that will give farmers, manufacturers and retailers new hope for empowerment and enfranchisement.”

As the leading regional producer of plantation refined white sugar, with more than 99% market share, the prospects for Belizean sugar look good. The Government of Belize continues to play a major role in regional discussions to secure a CARICOM market for Caribbean sugar products.

In the Caribbean, the failure of a sector that employs over 40,000 and indirectly supports up to 400,000 persons would be tragic. In order to avoid this devastating outcome the interests of all stakeholders from sugar to manufacturing as well as the needs of the end user, both from a price and quality perspective need to be taken into account, while focusing on innovation and opportunities such as the generation of alternative energy (17% of Belize’s energy requirements are supplied by sugar mills) and the development of new products. 

Get the best of Forbes to your inbox with the latest insights from experts across the globe.

Follow me on Twitter

I’m an environmental writer with a focus on food and agriculture, and commute between the Southern Caribbean (Barbados) and the Northern Caribbean (Cayman Islands). I have a Master’s Degree in International Economic Policy from Columbia University and am passionate about Caribbean social, economic and environmental issues. I am intrigued by the resilience of the Small Island Developing States of the region as well as the opportunities for sustainable and regenerative growth through agriculture. I recently headed up communications for a climate change in fisheries project (CC4FISH) at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and have worked in development banking, environmental not-for-profits, and in the venture capital industry. My work has appeared in wide cross-section of Caribbean newspapers and magazines, the Sunday Times (of London), Elite Daily, Elephant Journal and other publications. Follow me on Twitter at @daphneewingchow.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/ww...-sweet-comeback/amp/

FM
×
×
×
×
×
×