Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr Christopher Tufton (right), addresses a group of cane cutters at the Frome Sugar Estate in Westmoreland on Wednesday ahead of the start of the 2010 sugar crop. - Photo by Dalton Laing

SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland:

Declaring that illicit cane fires and the scrap metal industry are hurting sugar production, Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says the used-metal trade should be abolished if it continues to hamper sectors of the country.

"The sugar cane industry is under threat because of the scrap-metal thieves," Tufton said during a press briefing at Frome Sugar Estate in Westmoreland on Wednesday.

"We are really under stress and if this industry is going to continue as it is now, where everybody is under threat, it is not worth it."

Scrap-metal thieves have been stealing equipment, including cane carts, from estates, costing them millions of dollars.

He added: "Shut it down! Lock it down and let us continue in areas where we are able to function as a multifaceted economy."

He said his concern is less for illicit canes, as there has been a 10 per cent reduction in comparison to the corresponding period last year.

Millions of dollars lost

Tufton said millions of dollars are being lost as a result of scrap-metal thieves and he intends to be vigilant and vocal on the subject.

"I can't allow this to derail what we are trying to do in the sugar cane industry," he said.

The press briefing was preceded by a tour of canefields where about 40 cane cutters took a break from their work to listen to Tufton and air concerns.

The minister also went on an abbreviated tour of the factory at Frome to view the processes of grinding cane, boiling cane juice and packaging sugar.