Bridgetown.
The Ministry of Agriculture is planning a $450 million project to assist the ailing sugar industry.
The details of the project were outlined to the media yesterday by Minister of Agriculture Dr David Estwick, before he met with sugar industry officials and representatives of a overseas company which are likely to play a major role in the restructure sugar industry.
For several years, the sugar industry has faced declining output, high production cost and reduced earnings from the European Union, which is Barbados' export for the sweetner.
Estwick said the project will be implemented in two stages, the first will be field development, the second stage will be the building of a multi purpose sugar cane processing facility.
The Minister said that it is the Government's intention to transform the sugar sector into a high end value-added industry producing a wide range of products.
According to Estwick, these products includes alcohol, molasses, specialty sugar for the export market and energy.
Yesterday's meeting at the ministry's Graeme Hall headquarters was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Barbados Agricultural Management Company, the Barbados Sugar Industry Limited and a delegation from from the Japanese company Marubeni Corporation.
The project is expected to be operating fully by 2016.
