Sugar cane crop set to begin

AFTER weeks of unfavourable weather conditions, cane grinding operations are expected to begin today at Usine Ste Madeleine. Sugar Manufacturing Company Ltd (SMCL) CEO Andre Gayadeen said yesterday that although a large number of canefields remain waterlogged, several cane farmers took advantage of brilliant sunshine over the weekend and began hauling cane to the factory. “We expect to receive some cane from farmers, so we will begin grinding sometime today,” Gayadeen said. “We may start slowly depending on the supply of cane as well as the quality of the cane,” he added.

Meanwhile, Trinidad Islandwide Cane Farmers’ Association (TICFA) public relations officer, Lallan Rajaram, told Newsday that farmers were still hesitant to reap cane due to field conditions. “Some farmers have begun to cut some cane near the road, but when you go deeper into the heart of the fields, it is only water you meeting,” Rajaram said. He cited the Valley Line area in Barrackpore, which he said remained waterlogged on Saturday and Sunday. Rajaram said tomorrow seemed to be a good day to officially start the crop in full swing, “as long as the sun stays with us.”