Barbados to export packaged sugar to United States

The Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC), Orlando Atherley, says the agency should bring in BD$4.2 million (One Barbados dollar=US$0.50 cents), in revenue from the sale of locally branded packages of sugar exports that will be sold to the United States during this year’s harvest which starts on Monday.

According to Atherley, Barbados recently secured a contract to sell the United States 2,500 tonnes of packaged sugar every year.

Speaking with the publication Barbados Today, Atherley said the market was recently secured.

During a post-Cabinet press conference on Friday, Agriculture Minister Indar Weir said Barbados has almost now doubled the price it’s getting for its packaged sugar exports.

Previously we sold sugar for somewhere around BD$$900 per tonne. We are now selling sugar at around $1,500 to $1,700 per tonne.”

“So we have been able to penetrate the international market with packaged Barbados sugar. Previously what we did, we produced the sugar and exported it in bulk, and that is the reason we had the bond at the port. We are no longer using that bond and we are no longer exporting sugar in bulk. We are actually packaging sugar now with Barbadian branding and that sugar is being exported to the US, and we still have the option of exporting to the UK as well,” he said.

Meanwhile, the agriculture minister said all is in place for the crop to begin on Monday. He said the canes are at a mature stage and are ready for harvesting.

“ The factory is also ready. We concluded a major boiler retubing exercise, and I must thank the staff over at Portvale for the sterling work they have done. We do anticipate the factory will work a lot better this harvest,” Weir said.