HOPE FOR SUGAR CANE?

Trinidad and Tobago’s sugar cane industry, today under siege with the impending end of the ACP-EU Convention of Lome, is about to receive a needed assist with the construction by Angostura Limited of a state of the Art Fuel Ethanol Dehydration Unit which will produce ethanol from alcohol. The fuel ethanol plant which is expected to be completed late next month will give added value to sugar cane and to its alcohol derivative from which the ethanol will be produced. It is all part of Angostura’s far sighted decision to place greater emphasis on products rather than commodities. Several jobs in the growing of sugar cane, controlled by the country’s cane farmers since Government opted out of the growing of cane last year, will be saved as a result of the production of fuel ethanol. This production is of crucial importance, as with the end of the Lome Convention under which Trinidad and Tobago along with other ACP countries is allowed an annual preferential entry quota of raw cane sugar to the European Union [EU], the country’s high priced produced sugar will not be able to access EU markets.     

TT’s overall sugar production costs are way in excess of major sugar producing countries such as Australia, which not unlike Trinidad and Tobago has preferential entry access of its sugar to the European Union, and Brazil. In addition, both of these countries have signalled that they plan to offer their sugar at a significantly reduced price on the international market with the end of Lome. Chairman of Angostura, Mr. Lawrence Duprey, has indicated that the global market for bulk commodity alcohol is becoming increasingly competitive with consequent lower margins of profit. This is certain to become worse with the end of Lome, with many of the small and medium ACP sugar producers, who may wish to continue the growing of sugar cane, shifting increasingly to the production of commodity alcohol. While some may also seek to develop niche markets for specialty sugar, for example direct consumption brown sugar [yellow crystal type], which fetches slightly in excess of TT$5,000 a tonne in the United Kingdom, and specialty rums, the reality is that those markets by their exclusive nature are relatively small.

Admittedly, they can be expanded through effective marketing, but while Trinidad and Tobago, for example, may be able to gain a foothold in Britain’s niche market for specialty sugar through promotion by the Tourism and Industrial Development Corporation, how many other CARICOM countries will be able to afford this? Meanwhile, domestic entrepreneurs in conjunction with multi-nationals should take a serious look at establishing plants here for the production of plastics and synthetic rubber using sugar as an ingredient. In addition, with today’s technology, consideration could be given to re-examining the feasibility of producing industrial chemicals from bagasse, or for that matter Torula yeast from molasses. Clearly, something needs to be done and urgently for the saving of jobs or the generating of new avenues for employment in the sugar cane industry which, like the banana industry in the wider Caribbean Community of Nations, is under threat with thousands of jobs at risk. Angostura has in a large sense pointed out one of the roads forward for the sugar cane industry. Other companies should trump and follow suit, ideas and investment wise.