Following a series of meetings organised at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) in August, to find lasting solutions to the problems in the sugarcane sector, Wilson Laleau, Minister of Commerce, accompanied by a large delegation of members of his cabinet and officials of the Ministry, responded to the invitation of Associations of cane growers, distillers and guildiviers of of the Plaine of Léogâne and Saint-Michel de l'Attalaye.

Friday in Léogâne, he went to the Sugar Factory Darbonne, in the company of Agr. Pierre Guy Lafontant and Agr. Arnoux Séverin respectively Director General and Departmental Director of the West Department.

Twenty mill owners and distillers have attended the meeting. Mr. Civil Melour, the President of "Mouvman Kiltivatè ak Distilatè Leyogann" (MKDL) presented to the Minister the main problems of the cane sector in the region. After answering many questions and proposals of the participants, the Minister visited the facilities of the Sugar Factory Darbonne and some distilleries of Léogâne.

Saturday, the Minister Laleau visited Saint-Michel de l'Attalaye where he was greeted by more than a hundred cane growers, owners of mills and distilleries, all members of the Association of Guildiviers of Saint-Michel (AGSA).

The Minister spent over two hours answering questions, recommendations and requests participants before visiting a distillery and a mill for a close look of the reality of installations of this important sector.

Note that in Léogâne as in Saint-Michel, the players in the industry have mentioned the same issues for the sector include: declining cane yields; progressive decline in production; outdated technologies with low levels juice extraction in the mills with animals; lack of standards in the production of syrup and especially the marketing problem and impoverishment of producers, caused by poor competition on the clairin, due to the not adequately controlled import of alcohol in the country.

In Léogâne and Saint Michel de l'Attalaye, the Minister reiterated its full support for the promotion of domestic production and in particular the chain of cane [estimated 100,000 jobs], it is important to save it by all means. He promised to work with the Ministry of Agriculture to develop, from the next fiscal year, an articulated and coordinated policy to gradually solve the main problems of this important sector.

Pending these structural measures, he committed on two immediate actions :

1) A pilot experiment of application of quality standards and energy conversion in a distillery in Léogâne;

2) An accompanying for the AGSA to acquire units of mobile mills for a higher extraction rate of cane juice, what can already provide a significant increase in the revenues of the players in the industry.

HL/ TB/ HaitiLibre