Dear Editor,
The future for sugar can only be determined by the industry itself and not by professional economists or politicians from either side of the spectrum. By that I mean only people knowledgeable about the industry in all its aspects can appreciate and articulate in proper perspective its realities and practicalities with their peculiar nuances.
The basis for the existence of the industry begins with cane production and good quality cane both in terms of its healthy growth and sucrose content. Good cane production is a function of a gamut of husbandry practices that requires human application in varying degrees and diverse forms, beginning with land preparation and ending with harvesting.
Although cane production culminates with its reaping, the end result in our present context is sugar production. The cane will therefore need to be transported in a timely manner to the factory to be efficiently processed into sugar for supply to available markets that provide an economic return. However, before reaching that stage we must closely examine what is required for, and the feasibility of, accomplishing in an effective and efficient manner each of the operations necessary for good quality cane production.
The final processing into sugar assumes the existence of well-managed, efficiently operated factories continuously supplied with cane during their grinding periods.
The market mix for the level of sugar production envisaged will of course depend on the prices that can be negotiated, and in that regard the politicians can play an important role.
The question of the alternative uses of sugar, cane or its by-products, or even the sugar land itself, can be examined after the strategic questions on cane production are fully explored and answered, and hopefully put to rest.
Yours faithfully,
Fritz McLean
Former GuySuCo Director of Agricultural Research and Diversified Crops and retired Director of Corporate Planning.
