OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN on agriculture, Senator Anthony Johnson, has proposed that Jamaica should request not less than 160 million euro from the European Union for the restructuring and modernisation of the sugar industry.
This was part of a motion approved by the Senate last Friday urging the Finance Minister, Dr. Omar Davies, to urgently conclude investigations into the operations of the island's ailing sugar industry.
The motion comes against the EU's decision to implement a 39 per cent cut in the price it pays for sugar from Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries over the next four years. The EU has proposed a 40-million euro compensation package to the 18 member states of the ACP in the first year.
But Jamaica and other ACP countries have expressed opposition to this move and have instead suggested a 19 per cent price reduction to be phased in over an eight-year period. They also want the compensation package to be significantly increased to enable member states to undertake a programme of readjustment, modernisation and diversification.
In the meantime, Senator Johnson also requested that additional information be provided on the closure of the state-run Long Pond and Bernard Lodge factories as announced by Prime Minister Patterson in October.
MEASURES
Senator Johnson said priority must given to the implementation of measures to ensure the production of as much sugar as possible for the 2005/06 crop, and the repair of the road network important to the transportation of sugar cane, especially in the parishes of Trelawny, Clarendon, St. Catherine and St. Thomas. "Work is needed now, not tomorrow," Senator Johnson emphasised.
Government Senator Trevor Munroe, in supporting the motion, said that the modernisation and restructuring must be accompanied by a plan of action to move the sector forward, and monitoring committees should be established at the central level and on each estate, to see that the plans agreed on are implemented in a timely manner.
He further called for the strengthening of the country's lobbying voice in the international arena, with an intensification of internal efforts to redesign and improve the competitiveness of the industry.
