Time for longer contracts

"The best option for us is diversification and privatisation of the whole industry," he said.

"There have been several expressions of interest, to us and to the Government, and the Government has set up a team to look to move the process forward," Gayadeen added.

"I think with privatisation and diversification, there is considerable hope, if the farmers can get longer term contracts, security of market," he said.

He said the global situation was also imposing its own change on the industry with the global price expected to reach that offered by the European Union.

"As the price regime changes, the target consumer will likely change, because what is projected is that the Eurpoean guaranteed price and the world market price are going to merge within the next few years, in such a case a whole range of possibilities are opened up," he said.

There has to be a refocus, he said. "We know, we agree that sugar as it is presently configured is not there, we can’t go there, however, there is a big change in the world’s focus from sugar to the bio-mass produced by the sugar cane," he said. "Where the sugar can go to ethanol, and the bio-mass can go into either fuel, they can pelletize it and as certain countries in Europe are doing now or you can use it to go into paper products," he said.

Gayadeen noted that developed countries were also assisting developing ones with subsidies for the application of renewable fuels. He said timing was a critical factor if the sugar cane industry was to survive in Trinidad and Tobago, noting that such change must begin within the next two to three years.