By Erica James-King, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE SUGAR Company of Jamaica (SCJ), which has responsibility for government-run sugar entities, says 'steady progress' is being made in ensuring that sugar factories in western Jamaica will be ready for the new crop which kicks off on Sunday, December 7, at Frome in Westmoreland.
"At Frome the repairs are complete, the mills retooled and the clarifiers improved, and this week we are doing cleaning up," said SCJ chief executive officer, Livingstone Morrison, while pointing out that Frome was the only sugar factory which made a profit last year.
REFURBISHING AT LONG POND
At Long Pond in Trelawny, which suffered a $77 million loss during the 2002/03 sugar crop, a multi-million dollar refurbishing and retooling exercise is now taking place at that facility.
The crop is expected to get off the ground at that facility during mid-January, instead of the first week in January, as was previously planned.
The SCJ chief executive officer said the delay was necessary to allow time to wrap up the detailed refurbishing exercise at that facility.
"We are very determined to have a much better crop this year than we had last year, so we are investing the additional time in getting things going right," he said on Tuesday.
PROBLEMS TO BE RECTIFIED
In the last crop, the frequent mechanical and fuel problems which dogged the factory earned the ire of cane farmers in Trelawny and St. James. But, the SCJ insists that those problems are being rectified.
"We are doing a lot of work now in retubing the boilers. We have to put in a new air-heater as well, which helps with the efficiency of the boilers," Mr. Morrison explained.
"So our intention is to use the bagasse more efficiently, and to generate more of the steam and the power we need in the next crop."
In addition, the SCJ expects to have a new generator in place before the end of December, to reduce its dependence on the Jamaica Public Service Company for power.
Declining to disclose how much is being spent for the refurbishing/retooling exercise at Long Pond, the SCJ boss said "It's going to be a significant amount of financing."
Long Pond fell short of both its original and revised targets last year when it produced only 152,165 tonnes of sugar, prompting discontent in the Hampden Cane Farmers Association (HCFA) and the Long Pond/Vale Royal Cane Farmers Association.
Meanwhile, the HCFA is underscoring the need to see a marked improvement at Long Pond.
"Government is so short of cash right now that you wonder where the money will be coming from to repair Long Pond," said George Fray, the HCFA chairman.
"Nevertheless, if they are serious about boosting sugar production and sugar earnings, I am urging them to make sure they carry out the repairs thoroughly."
He is also calling on the SCJ to discuss with the cane farmers in Trelawny and St. James, whether they will be able to transport cane that is still in the field from the last crop (stand-over cane) which was not reaped.
"I have 700 tonnes of stand-over cane in the fields, and two other farmers have a total of 600 tonnes. Since the crop at Long Pond will not be before the middle of January, and those canes are ready to be reaped, we want SCJ to tell us if they could be sent to Frome for grinding," said Fray.
