John Myers Jr., Staff Reporter
APPROXIMATELY 4,000 workers will eventually lose their jobs as the Government closes two of the five publicly-owned sugar factories in an attempt to rationalise the ailing sugar industry.
The rationalisation plan unveiled in Parliament yesterday by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson comes ahead of plans by the European Union (EU) to reduce by 39 per cent, the price of sugar imported from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, over four years.
"This means that two of the current Government-owned plants, Long Pond and Bernard Lodge, will eventually be closed as far as sugar production is concerned," Mr. Patterson disclosed. But, he emphasised that "We do not intend to close any factories immediately, but will be forced to do so in light of the phasing-out period agreed and the introduction of suitable alternatives." He said implementation of the plan would commence next year.
The Prime Minister said he was fully aware of the implications the new measures would have on those employed to the sector, but gave the assurance that the measures were being implemented to "establish the needed training programmes for the transition to a modernised sugar cane-based industry, restructure worker involvement and work relations in the industry (and) undertake interventions at household and community levels in the vulnerable sugar producing areas."
Pressured by the Opposition, Mr. Patterson disclosed that the Government was taking steps to ensure that the displaced workers found employment from the opportunities being created from the expansion of the tourism sector, as well as that which is expected to be created from the production of ethanol and the increased production of molasses.
Referring to a recent assessment carried out by a team of EU consultants, Mr. Patterson dismissed suggestions that the country did not have the capacity to produce ethanol economically, claiming that the Government's own studies indicate that the venture was "indeed viable".
A key part of the Government's plan to ensure that there is adequate sugar cane for ethanol production will be to increase the amount of cane per acreage and to work closely with the factories and farmers.
OPPOSITION QUESTIONS
But in reacting quickly to the rationalisation plan, Opposition Leader Bruce Golding wanted to know how much it would cost to implement the plan and how it would be financed.
"First of all, (it would be financed) from whatever compensation we are able to secure from the EU ...," the Prime Minister said. "Second, there are also sources of soft loan funding that might be available from EU institutions ... We also contemplate that funding will be required from other sources and that might require looking at the international financial institutions."
Mr. Patterson said he did not know at this time how much it would cost to undertake the compete rationalisation of the sugar industry.
He added that the Government expected to source additional capital from business ventures that the Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) was pursuing with private investors. Already, he said, a Brazilian entity had expressed interest in acquiring one of the Government-owned factories that would produce ethanol as its primary product.
