The rum industry may be able to prop up the ailing sugar industry.
A source told the Sunday Sun that proposals were being drafted to see how the two industries could work together, but pointed out that it was still at a very delicate stage and as a result no information could be divulged.
With Mount Gay, the leading rum producer purchasing Mount Gay Plantation two years ago to plant its own sugar cane specifically for molasses, the source said this may be the way for others to follow, given that the industry’s main source for molasses – Guyana – was going through a crisis with its sugar production.
Rum has become one of the leading exports for Barbados, averaging close to $80 million on an annual basis. On the other hand, sugar which in the 1990s was raking in between $60 and $70 million, has been on a rapid decline, only able to pull in around $13 million for the past two years. (MB)Â
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