(Jamaica Observer) Private sugar manufacturers have negotiated to supply 80,000 tonnes of sugar to a United Kingdom-based entity in the 2011-2012 crop year for more than twice the price of the current deal, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Robert Montague announced on Thursday.
The agreement, signed with ED&F Man Sugar Limited, is for a price of US$936.98 ($80,000) per tonne, an increase of 115 per cent over the price currently being received from another British company Tate and Lyle, Montague said.
“This significant increase underlines the tightness of sugar supply in the world today. More importantly though, for us, it represents a significant incentive to the industry and to cane farmers particularly,” he said.
The agreement by the private manufacturers was made with the consent of the Chinese company COMPLANT, which on August 15 is scheduled to take over the three remaining sugar estates in Government hands, namely Bernard Lodge in St Catherine, Frome in Westmoreland, and Monymusk in Clarendon.
The agreement comes at a time of significant expansion by both estates and private farmers in cane production with 1,700 hectares of new cane planted as of June this year, the Minister said. Following the ending of the Sugar Protocol with Europe in 2009, Jamaica supplied 79,000 tonnes of sugar to Eridania Suisse of Italy in the 2009/2010 crop year, while this year 100,000 tonnes is to be supplied to Tate & Lyle, he added.
