AROUND 5:45 P.M. yesterday, Portvale Factory in St James began grinding canes to start this year’s sugar production.
And barring any mechanical challenges, Barbados’ lone operating sugar factory will be working non-stop, 24 hours a day, every day, until the scheduled end of the crop season on July 13.
When the order was given to start production, there was close to 1 000 tonnes of cane on site, enough to get them going apace overnight.
The order came about three hours after the boilers were fired up in anticipation of the start.
