DEPENDING ON ONGOING union talks, the sugar crop may start by next week and is expected to produce 10 000 more tonnes of cane than it did last year, but about the same amount of sugar.
General manager of the Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC) Leslie Parris told the MIDWEEK NATION that with the closure of Andrew’s Factory in St Joseph this year and 2015 set as the time to start construction of the new US$270 million multi-purpose factory there, Portvale in St James will start with steam trials by next Wednesday.
“BAMC is positioning itself to be ready to start the crop next week. There are other issues involved, of course, but we will be positioning ourselves and the crop will start depending on the outcome of talks with the stakeholders, namely BAMC, the independent producers and the workers’ representative,” he said.
Recalling a major setback to the factory three months ago through damage to Portvale’s power plant, Parris said the workers and staff in general had gone beyond the call of duty to ensure that the factory was ready for the 2014 crop.