MONTEGO BAY, St James - Karl James, general manager of Jamaica Cane Products Sales - the company that markets sugar produced locally - said Monday that although the country would not achieve its sugar production target for the 2005/2006 crop, it had surpassed its projected earnings of US$78 million for the season.

JAMES... Jamaica earned US$82 million from the export of approximately 136,000 tonnes of sugar

According to James, the country had so far earned US$82 million from the export of approximately 136,000 tonnes of sugar.
Of that amount, he said, 131,000 tonnes had been sold to the European Union (EU) while the remainder had been shipped to the United States.

Last crop the country earned almost US$69 million from the exports of 113,000 tonnes of the product.
The sugar expert who is currently in Brazil discussing the prospects of setting up a second ethanol plant in Jamaica, told the Observer that he planned to sell another 5,000 tonnes of sugar on the international market within another few weeks.

He could not say, however, whether crystals would be sold.
"When I get back home (to Jamaica) on Thursday, I will see what amount (of sugar) is available and do some negotiations, after which time I will decide where and the amount we are going to sell," he said.

Last week, agriculture minister Roger Clarke expressed disappointment with the level of sugar production for the 2005/2006 season, which is expected to end later this week.
"It is another disappointing crop; we are going to fall well below projection," Clarke told the Observer then.

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