FROME, Westmoreland — Stakeholders in the local sugar industry have expressed concern about the number of illicit cane fires in this western parish since the start of the 2010/2011 sugar crop a month ago.

Victor Wright, operations manager at the Sugar Divestment Enterprise, Frome Division, says that since the start of the crop, there have been 136 such fires resulting in the burning of 41,434 tonnes of cane.

“This is a 420 per cent increase in the number of acres of cane burnt over the similar period last year,” Wright told the Observer West Tuesday.

For the comparative period last year, there were some 76 fires which razed 9,875 tonnes of cane, he said.

The sugar belt areas in Westmoreland and Hanover have long been plagued by the illicit burning of cane.

At the Frome estate, several initiatives have been implemented to curb the incidence including a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons responsible. Education programmes on the negative effects of illicit cane fires have also been run.

But stakeholders say the initiatives have not borne fruit.

Last crop, fires were blamed for the loss of more than $200 million worth of sugar cane in the Westmoreland area.

Chairman of the Westmoreland/Hanover Sugar Cane Growers Association Lucius Jackson on Tuesday described the situation as “disgraceful” and called on his colleagues to be vigilant.

“I am calling on my members to look out for the arsonists who want to destroy the industry,” he said, adding that several acres of his cane were razed by illicit fires earlier this week.

“I am again appealling to these persons (arsonists) to stop it and to recognise the importance of the sugar industry to the parish of Westmoreland and in fact the entire country,” Jackson urged.

Wright also expressed disgust, but said he was satisfied with the current levels of production at the Frome sugar factory.

He said the plant has so far manufactured 5,131 tonnes of sugar from the milling of 60,796 tonnes of cane at a TC:TS ratio (tonne cane: tonne sugar) of 11.85.

“This time last year we were at 4,364 tonnes of sugar at a TC/TS of 13.33,” he added.

The management of the Frome estate has set itself a target of 57,000 tonnes of sugar during the five-month-long crop.

Last crop, Frome — the island’s largest sugar processing plant — produced 40,830 tonnes of the sweetener.

Sugar, once Jamaica’s leading foreign exchange earner, remains the main agricultural export. According to the annual Economic and Social Survey, Jamaica earned US$75.7 million in 2009 from the export of 120,210 tonnes.