Tufton on sugar plans

The government has indicated that it will provide an update on the planned divestment of the sugar industry by month end.

There have been concerns about the delays in the divestment process after the administration missed two deadlines for the completion of the deal with Brazilian company, Infinity Bio Energy.

The deadline was originally set for September 30 and was later shifted to December 31.
But late last year news emerged that Infinity Bio Energy had requested a further delay until the end of January to allow for the deal to be completed.

This development followed the release of Infinity’s financial results for the six-month period ending September 2008.

In the document, Infinity said while it was advancing with the sugar deal with Jamaica it could not guarantee that the transaction would take place.

When asked whether the government still plans to go ahead with the deal, the Agriculture Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton declined to give a specific date for the completion of the divestment.