Mill disruptions, labour tensions extend difficult sugar season

The government is preparing a restructuring of the sugar cane industry — the second in as many years —  with a focus on improving yields, quality and long-term viability, Minister of Agriculture Dr Shantal Munro-Knight said on Thursday. 

What has been dubbed a strategic “right-sizing” comes as the current reaping season faces an unexpected extension following a shutdown at the Portvale sugar factory. While Dr Munro-Knight noted it is too early to tell if the industry will hit its original production targets, she emphasised that the government is utilising the transition period to reshape the industry’s future.

“I want to say to you, again — I use this word a lot very strategically — that we have been thinking about how we kind of right-size sugar cane production,” Munro-Knight said.

To drive the overhaul, a major stakeholder forum will immediately follow the extended harvest, she said. The discussions will rely heavily on data from a series of recent industry assessments.

“There have been a number of studies, and again, I intend that post this season when it ends, to be able to bring all of those that are involved and let us have another kind of strategic conversation about where we go from here,” she explained.

The primary objectives of the upcoming consultations will be addressing production inefficiencies and raising agricultural standards.

“How do we improve yields and the quality—which is very important, the very quality of our crop—is going to be important,” the minister said.

Action on the initiative is already underway, Munro-Knight said, as the Barbados Sugar Industry Ltd (BSIL), the group representing the traditional planters, has reached out to initiate discussions.

“BSIL has already reached out to me to say let’s sit down and have that conversation, and we will be doing so,” Dr Munro-Knight said, signalling a coordinated push between the government and private stakeholders to modernise the industry.

Grinding at the Portvale sugar factory resumed following industrial action.

It was first halted in mid-March for three days after multiple workers, represented by the Unity Workers Union (UWU), walked off the job over issues related to union recognition and working conditions. Operations resumed after the strike, but intermittent shutdowns persisted due to both mechanical problems and ongoing labour tensions.

At the time, BSIL farmers supplying cane to the mill raised concerns about the knock-on effects of the stoppages, reporting delays in cane acceptance and disruptions to their own operations as the impasse between the union and management continued.

The industry has operated under a new management framework since January 15, 2024, when two cooperatives, the Agricultural Business Company Ltd (ABC) and BESCO, assumed responsibility for cultivation, milling and sales after the transition from the state-owned Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC).

(RR)