No word on start of cane harvest

By Emmanuel Joseph 

There is uncertainty about when this year’s sugar harvest will begin, with some unidentified issues related to field workers still unresolved.

“Discussions are still ongoing on a number of [outstanding] issues on behalf of the workers,” Deputy General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) Dwaine Paul confirmed to Barbados TODAY.

However, he said he was not in a position at this time to divulge the nature of the outstanding matters which impact those employees who will be reaping the canes.

Chairman of the Barbados Sugar Industry Limited (BSIL) Mark Sealy, meanwhile, said the private sector cane farmers’ body, which had been hoping to have begun by February 15, was also unsure about the start date of the 2023 harvest.

He expressed the hope, however, that it will be before month end.

“We are ready to start. I haven’t heard any word as yet [on a date]. I understand there is supposed to be some warming of the boilers and steam trials [at Portvale Sugar Factory], but I am not sure when that is happening. We would have liked the crop to start before the 15th but we hope it can start before the end of February,” he told Barbados TODAY on Monday.

Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir was unavailable for comment,

In early January, acting head of the Agronomy Research Department (ARD) Nyah Nyhathu had forecast that the crop might not begin in mid-February as anticipated by Weir and other officials.

Nyhathu had told Barbados TODAY the start would depend on environmental conditions and the maturity of the canes and that a series of tests would first have to be carried out by the ARD. However, he said, that critical research had been delayed by rain at the time. 

He could not be reached for an update on that brix survey which would determine the maturity of the canes and confirm whether they were ready for harvesting. 

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb