THE JAMAICAN sugar industry is currently engaged in a desperate struggle for survival. Indeed, its record low production of 153,000 tonnes in 2003 seemed at the time to be heralding the final closing of the book on this 300-year-old industry. Were it not for the fortuitous strengthening of the euro against the U.S. dollar that allowed for a reasonable price after conversion to Jamaican dollars it is very likely that more farmers would have given up in despair.
But even while they were celebrating this windfall, the European Commission which buys our raw sugar was declaring its intention to reduce the price by some 37 per cent over a three-year period beginning this year. Strong lobbying on the part of the Jamaican Government and the other suppliers in the ACP countries succeeded in getting a delay in the implementation of these cuts. But when they inevitably come, it is unlikely that the sugar industry as we know it now will survive.
A closure of this very important industry would have a devastating effect on the many rural communities and townships that have developed around and are sustained by the factories in rural Jamaica. There is no identifiable crop or enterprise that can replace sugar which at present provides direct employment for more than 40,000 workers. Additionally it is the only crop that managed to survive with minimal damage from the ravages of Hurricane Ivan.
It is for these reasons that we welcome the move to diversify the industry by the production of other products from the sugar cane plant. As we understand it, plans are well under way to go full steam ahead with the generation of electricity from bagasse not only to run the factories but also to sell to the national grid. Cogeneration will, therefore, have two immediate beneficial effects; the reduction of costs in the factories and the earning of additional income to that provided by the sale of sugar and rum.
We are also heartened by the news that the much-talked-about production of ethanol to be used locally as a fuel supplement in the transport sector will begin shortly. This will require a larger quantity of canes and, therefore, will provide a greater opportunity for farmers and workers.
Dr. Earl Roberts, director of the Sugar Industry Research Institute, spoke on these developments recently at a farmers' seminar, declaring that the sugar cane plant was the most efficient converter of solar energy. It is also the source of thousands of other products, but locally, we have been content over these centuries to produce only raw sugar for others to reap the benefits of the value-added products.
Time has finally caught up with us, and hopefully, it is not too late to make the transition from a dying sugar industry to what has the potential to be a flourishing sugar cane industry. Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke's exhortation to field workers at the National Cane Cutters Competition on Wednesday is a timely plea for enhanced efficiency at the most basic level of the industry.
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