50% increase expected from sugar harvest

THE 2017 HARVEST looks set to be the start of a sweet new chapter in the life of sugar cultivation in Barbados.

And while the numbers remain small compared with those of 30 years ago, industry officials are bullish about an expected near 50 per cent increase in output, with even larger gains projected for 2018 based on new fields under cultivation that will provide their first crop next year and more determined efforts generally by private farmers.

But Patrick Bethell, chairman of Barbados Sugar Industries Limited, the grouping of private farmers responsible for less than half the lands under sugar cultivation, but more than 60 per cent of the production, wants Government to get its act together so the industry can soar.

While Barbados produced just under 8 000 tonnes of sugar last year, it is projected that when the harvest gets going in another two months or so, production could finish as high as 12 000 tonnes, and most of it should come from private farms. (RRM)

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