CHAIRMAN of the Long Pond/Vale Royal Farmers Association, Delroy Anderson, said this week that the expectation was that this year’s crop would be better than last year’s.

“The crop looks better than last year because the sucrose content of the canes is very good… And the weather has been very kind to us,” Anderson told the Observer.

Added he: “If the weather pattern continues and there are not problems at the factory, then the farmers should make more money.”

According to him, the members of his association intended to supply roughly 60,000 tonnes of cane during this year’s crop, which began earlier this week.

Meanwhile, farmers who supplied their cane to the Long Pond Sugar factory during the last crop reportedly lost millions of dollars due to a number of problems that plagued the plant. Those problems, which included an inefficient boiler and turbines, in addition to faulty mills, resulted in the loss of many hours of productive time. The factory was, in turn, only able to produce under 10,000 tonnes of sugar – the lowest quantity produced at that facility in recent history, according to industry officials. Factory management intends to increase that quantity to 14,000 this year.