Long Pond sugar target missed

With just over three weeks left before the end of the sugar crop, the Long Pond Sugar factory is nowhere close to meeting the production targets set for this year.



Everglades Farms Limited, which operates the factory, said it had projected that 88 tonnes of cane would have been reaped, which would have yielded about 8 tonnes of sugar.



However, it said the target will most likely be missed because of the inability of farmers to sufficiently organise and manage their reaping operations.



It said the farmers were also unable to mobilise enough cane cutters to carry out reaping exercises at their fields.



Other factors identified by the company are a shortage of loaders and the lack of adequate haulage equipment.



Everglades Farms Limited also said only 13 of 20 truckers who received loans to fix their trucks, turned up at the start of the crop and that at present about seven are on the job.



Everglades Farms Limited said it is reminding farmers that they are operating a business and the company will not assume responsibility for organising them.



Meanwhile, chairman of the All Island Jamaica Cane Farmers’ Association, Allan Rickards, says a meeting has been called for today, to address the issue of unreaped canes in Trelawny.



He said the association will be looking at ways in which the remainder of the cane can be reaped before the season ends.



However, Rickards said he does not believe the level of organisation of farmers is the main contributor to the missed target at the Long Pond Sugar factory.



He believes the eight tonne projection was too high.



Rickards said the association is also concerned that some of the truckers, who were granted loans have not been fulfilling their commitment to transport the cane reaped by farmers.



Meanwhile, Rickards said he expects things to improve next year, as farmers had not invested a lot in this year’s crop because of the slowdown in activity at the factory in recent years.



The factory recently underwent a $1 billion upgrade and modernisation.



radio@gleanerjm.com