By Cedric Johnson, Gleaner WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
WITH THE cropping period extended to the third week of May, the Frome Sugar factory in Westmoreland, which has already achieved the 50,000-tonne mark, seems poised to achieve its pre-crop projected target of 55,000 tonnes.
"We have produced 51,000 tonnes at the excellent (tonne of cane to tonne of sugar) ratio of 10:9 and our first set target of 55,000 is still in sight," said Aston Smith, operations manager of the factory. He spoke at a recent presentation function for the national cane cutters' competition, which took place at the estate.
Looking at the impact of the sugar industry on the West-moreland/Hanover communities, Mr. Smith said that serious note should be taken of the fact that 1,500 workers are directly employed to the industry, which also provides a livelihood for over 2,400 farmers.
"When the crop is on, some $50 million is pumped each week in the local economy," said Mr. Smith, who noted that the 200 acres of land at the 66-year-old estate is being actively transformed into a heritage tourism attraction. "This amount is reduced to $18 million during the cut-off crop period."
However, Astil Sangster, chairman of the West End Cane Farmers' Association, is not as optimistic about the possible outcome of the crop. In an interview earlier this week, he said that while the 55,000 tonnes of sugar seems a realistic figure, he has reports that one of the mills has broken down, causing a delay in grinding operations, which could result in the spoilage of some of the cane.
