Mill project to tell story of rum

As Barbados embarks on a restructuring of the sugarcane industry, one local rum producer has joined the transformation effort by introducing a new research facility.

At the same time, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security Indar Weir has served notice that Government’s subsidy of the industry was still on schedule to come to an end as transition to the production of more value-added products takes place.

On Friday, officials of the West Indies Rum Distillery Ltd. announced the official opening of its Harper Sugarcane Mill, which is dedicated to sugarcane and rum research.

The roughly $1 million project, which was in the making prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to employ between 10 and 15 people depending on the cane harvesting season, and it is to operate in partnership with the nearby West Indies Central Sugarcane Breeding Station.

During the inauguration ceremony on Friday at the Groves, St George location, Minister of Agriculture and Food and Nutritional Security Indar Weir welcomed the new research facility, saying it complemented Government’s efforts to transform the sugarcane industry to make it more viable and focused on value-adding.

Describing the research facility as visionary and relevant, Weir said it should generate substantial benefits to the local economy, adding that it represented a fundamental part of the industry’s history.

Among the benefits, he said, should be the manufacturing of more quality rum varieties.

“Other benefits are expected from the partnership. The sugarcane mill has the potential to be a tourist attraction, it can provide educational opportunities for both local and overseas tourists who are keen on learning more about sugarcane and rum distilleries. Visitors can also be exposed to the research being undertaken by the sugarcane breeding programme, as well as be educated about the various stages of our variety testing and selection programme,” he said.

Weir told the gathering that the transformation of the sugarcane industry had started. He indicated that the goal was to transition from traditionally producing bulk sugar for export markets, particularly Europe, into a profitable value chain industry supported by renewable energy.

He said the promised end to the sugar subsidy had not yet occurred. “Over the years, government remained committed to providing financial support to the sugar industry. However, such intervention eventually has to end, especially in light of changing market dynamics and the sustained losses fuelled by operational inefficiencies.”

Last October Prime Minister Mia Mottley indicated that a March 1, 2022 deadline had been set to move away from the long-standing agreement to subsidise the sugarcane industry as the restructuring takes place.

“The transition of the sector will see the industry producing reduced quantities of raw sugar to satisfy domestic needs while targeting overseas markets with branded specialty sugars for direct consumption only. The local rum industry also stands to benefit from increased production of premium quality molasses,” said Weir.

“However, it does not end here. We will be maximizing the full value chain associated with the sugarcane plant by manufacturing several byproducts including fertilizers and certain household bio-degradable items. We will also be telling the story of sugar and rum to the world thereby forging key linkages with our cultural and tourism sectors,” he added.

The minister said gone were the days when Barbados had preferential access to the European market for its sugar, noting that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was partially responsible for killing the industry.

“Although the decline started earlier, it was the tentacles of free trade in the post-WTO era that had a lasting grip on the lifeline of Caribbean sugar-exporting countries. This grip squeezed the remaining life out of the once profitable price support mechanism and led to a drastic erosion of commodities prices to devastating levels. Barbados’ sugarcane industry was consequently impacted. The industry became increasingly uncompetitive and eventually suffered economic losses,” said Weir.

Officials noted that the new research facility will be able to process between five and seven tonnes of sugarcane per hour.

Managing Director of West Indies Rum Distillery Andrew Hassell said the sugarcane mill project came about as a result of the Barbados sugarcane research team needing a sugarcane belt for research purposes and the West Indies Rum Distillery team needing a sugar belt for rum research purposes.

Giving an historical overview for the project, Hassell said the facility was named in honour of one of Barbados’ early sugarcane field workers Imran Harper, who discovered in 1858 that the sugarcane could grow from the seed collected from the arrow.

Master Blender and Owner of West Indies Rum Distillery Alexandre Grabriel said the research will look at a number of areas including the variety of sugarcane and how it impacts the taste of the rum.

He said a part of the idea was to create greater awareness, adding that it was about time that everybody knows about the “excellence” of Barbados rum.

“It is together we are going to win, it is together that we are going to put Barbados rum behind every bar and in every high-end restaurant,” he said.

“This is what we are about and this is what we are dedicating our research to. The more you know about rum the more you enjoy it,” he added.
(MM)