THE EDITOR, Sir:
WE THE people of the Caribbean feel betrayed that the European Union (EU) has decided to cut the prices it now pays us for sugar. If there is some legally binding commitment in the prices currently paid to us, this should be honoured until the agreement ends. On the other hand, the Caribbean and other poor African producers should start making some hard decisions. We were well aware that the prices that were being paid to us (US$764.1 per metric ton), which is about five times the world market prices, could not be sustained.
The EU has come under pressure from the World Trade Organisation, through nations such as Brazil, Australia and Thailand. These larger producers see the preferential pricing as unfair. As independent nations the EU owes us nothing. No one wants to pay more for a commodity that can be had at far lower prices. What to do now that a decision has already been made to reduce the prices to US$466.1 per metric ton by 2010?
CARIBBEAN ISLANDS
The islands of the Caribbean are highly suited for efficient growth of sugar cane, due to its year-round bright sunshine. It's now the right time to completely unlock the full potential a well functioning sugar industry can bring. There are already case studies in Jamaica that a well functioning industry can be world competitive; the private estates, Appleton and Worthy Park, have shown that sugar cane production can be a viable business. Cuba also produces sugar at the world market prices, probably with far less resource than that available to us in Jamaica. Instead of complaining about the price cuts we should be lobbying the EU to assist us in making the sugar industry viable in the Caribbean.
We need to now embrace the use of research and technology application in every step of the process. Research needs to be conducted on higher-yielding sugar cane types and low water consumption irrigation techniques. Full energy recovery needs to be done from bagasse and also from the dunder waste produced after molasses distillation. The application of anaerobic digestion for treating the dunder produces methane gas with the possibility for providing upward of 80 per cent of the energy requirement for operating the distillery. The added benefit is that we reduce the nuisances of this highly polluting substance.
EUROPEAN AND ALCOHOL
We should not see all these improvements mentioned as out of our reach; they are more than feasible, even with well managed local skills. In Europe, alcohol makes a lot of people happy; they can't get enough of it. The Caribbean with its world-renowned rums ought to take full control of the ethanol market and compete more with wine, beer, vodka, whisky, etc.
In my opinion, we probably should only produce just enough sugar in the Caribbean for regional consumption. Instead rum production and dehydrated ethanol are far more viable and growing markets. This is where the bulk of the sugar crop should be channelled. Furthermore, with the phasing
out of the gasolene additive Methyl-tert-butyl ether in the United States of America,
dehydrated ethanol demand has started to sky-rocket. Ethanol
production will also increase our energy security, especially with the ever increasing oil bill Jamaica faces. We need to be in a position to realise thesepossibilities.
WHAT TO DO ?
What do we do now? Will we make the right steps if we want to safeguard an industry with undoubtedly enormous benefits and which must be kept running for several reasons, or will it be old business practices as usual? It's also certain that within a few years the prices of sugar may even become cheaper caused by larger producers becoming more efficient through improved technology, research and the continuing trend of declining world demand. When this time comes again, will we also blame the Europeans, or would we have retooled and reorganised our industry to world standards in order to stand firm?
I am, etc.,
CHRISTOPHER KEVIN
WAUL
ckw@er.dtu.dk
PhD student
Technical University of
Denmark
