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ASR/BSI held a ground breaking event at their Towerhill Facility today, and here's what the company's representative had to say about the investment and the fact that they must move ahead without the biggest growers group:

Mac MacLachlan, VP, ASR Group Int'l Relations
"We are grateful that 2 of the 3 farm associations following lengthy dialogue with BSI and comprehensive consultation with their membership agree to commit to that certainty by accepting to remove a clause from the agreement. We had hope this morning to be able to announce to the wider community that the 3rd association had also agreed to these changes, but were disappointed to learn that this is not the case at least so far."

"It is our view that at this critical juncture for our industry that this convoy cannot sail at the speed of the slowest ship. We need action now. That is why BSI with the support if all but one of the industry stakeholders has decided to move ahead with the significant investment for the benefit of the whole industry."

Mac MacLachlan, VP, ASR Group Int'l Relations
"The investment is aimed at almost doubling the amount of what we called direct consumption sugars. These are food grade high quality sugars that can be sold into the market place without further refining. They attract a high price than raw sugar because it doesn't need further refining and because there is increasingly market preference for that type of sugar. So the whole point here is that we are moving to a higher quantity of added value sugars which will help to protect our industry moving forward and to ensure it remains sustainable."

"This is a common sense investment. We are moving with this investment from producing around 30,000 tons of direct consumption sugar of the total 140-145 that we make to around 50,000 tons over the next 18 months. We will have to see. It will take step by step, but clearly there is advantage in this investment and there is advantage because of the added value it will bring and therefore we would need to look and see how successful that was moving forward."

Hon. Godwin Hulse, Minister of Agriculture
"This morning is a wonderful occasion. I don't think anybody across the nation can deny that 22 million dollars investment in the sugar industry is not a good thing and you notice I didn't say in BSI/ASR factory. I said the sugar industry, because everybody in the sugar industry is going to be affected positively by this investment."

"It makes me even more proud as Minister of Agriculture, because in the ministry we have set a very positive policy of moving from primary product to value added products. In other words moving from chicle to chewing gum. You know the block of chicle use to go out some time ago for 50 cents and came back as a little pack of Nova Chewing Gum for 60 cents. That is where value added is. That is where the develop countries made their money, took our primary products, processed it, sold back to us expensive and sold it to the rest of the world. Today's investment is going to put the sugar directly in people's tea cups, in people's bun and bread, in people's cake and it is a processed final product without going through that intermediary stage, so it signals a massive step forward in value added products."