LaTonya Linton, Gleaner Writer
CANE FARMERS in St. Catherine are refusing to have their canes processed at the Monymusk Sugar Factory in Clarendon for the three weeks the Bernard Lodge sugar factory will be closed.
"When we try taking cane to a distance it affects our bottom line and ... add transport cost and all of that ...," Andrew Wright, chairman of the Lower St. Catherine Cane Farmers Association, told The Gleaner yesterday. "So we await the reopening of Bernard Lodge to deliver cane. We decided unanimously not to deliver cane to any other factory until the Bernard Lodge factory is reopened."
On Monday, the Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) closed the Bernard Lodge factory to facilitate repairs to damaged equipment. According to the SCJ an investigation is now under way to determine if the damage to the equipment was the result of sabotage.
"There is at present an investigation being carried out which would take a week, and we expect the report as soon as
possible, so that we can also form our opinion as to what is happening," Mr. Wright said.
SCJ president, Livingston Morrison, said he did not wish to comment on that issue until the investigations were completed.
But commenting on the refusal of farmers to send their produce to the Monymusk Sugar Factory, Mr. Morrison said it would not create a problem.
"We have no difficulty with the farmers refusing to send their crops to Clarendon as we would be able to take the cane at Bernard Lodge factory when it reopens," he said.
He added that a ship would be leaving Jamaica next week carrying 21 tonnes of sugar to Europe. "Some people have expressed fears that the target would not be met, but we have exceeded the target," he said.
The Bernard Lodge sugar factory is owned by the SCJ but, last year, Government announced plans for its closure along with the Long Pond factory in Trelawny.
