Claus Spreckels, successful sugar refiner and capitalist, had already revolutionised the process of cubing sugar when he set about reorganising Maui’s dry plains into lush tracts of cane. This is how he modernised Hawaiian sugar production and monopolised its distribution.

Spreckels’s major [irrigation] ditch was the Haiku Ditch, constructed by Japanese workers using hand drills and requiring a capital outlay of $US500,000, the largest amount spent on any irrigation project in the Hawaiian Islands to date.

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HAIKU, Hawaii — Lyn Scott's family has fished in Honopou stream for centuries and tapped its water to farm the Hawaiian staple taro on stone-lined terraces built by her ancestors.

Up the road, Leonard Pagan helps run irrigation systems at Hawaii's last sugar plantation. He's the fourth generation of his family to work at Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., going back to his great-grandfather who emigrated from Puerto Rico.

Taro, fish and sugar are all central to Hawaii's rich history and identity. To thrive in this corner of Maui, however, they must all be nourished by the same supply of water. This has triggered an emotional struggle pitting one of Maui's biggest employers — the last representative of Hawaii's once-mighty "King Sugar" — against Native Hawaiians fighting to hang on to neglected ancient traditions.

"They're fighting for their way of life and we're fighting for ours," said Wesley Bissen, a 30-year veteran machinist at the plantation, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co.

The battle is now in it's ninth year, dating to 2001 when the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation filed a petition asking the state to return water to East Maui streams.

In 2008, the state water commission ordered the sugar plantation to restore water to 8 streams — including Honopou. But Scott says her family's still not getting enough water to fish and farm taro like her ancestors. They're waiting for the water commission to respond to a complaint filed by her lawyers.

Scott's counterparts further east along the coast are waiting another decision from the water commission in a case that seeks to force the sugar plantation to restore water to 19 additional East Maui streams.

HC&S has agreed to restore water to one of the 19 streams. But officials say the company would have to shut down if it's ordered to give up more, sparking mass layoffs.

"It might be a big company that is controlling the water but it employs 800 little people. And that makes a big difference," said Pagan, whose family has worked for HC&S since the 1800s.

The water commission is expected to announce its decision on the 19 streams this month.

One possible compromise, said Chris Benjamin, HC&S general manager, would have the plantation restore some water to the streams during the winter while holding on to its current diversions during the summer. He said this would allow the plantation to continue to access East Maui water when it needs it the most.

Benjamin said it's hard to say how HC&S would respond if the commission ruled against it. "It would depend on what they decide to do."

Sugar plantations began diverting water from the streams running through the lush hills and valleys of East Maui in 1876.

Whaling, Hawaii's economic mainstay at the time, was on the decline. Looking for a new source of growth, the Hawaiian Kingdom threw its support behind the nascent sugar industry. It gave the plantations permission to divert water from wetter sides of the Hawaiian islands and channel it to drier plains planted with sugarcane.

Sugar prospered across the state, giving plantation owners a prominent role in running Hawaii after the U.S.-backed overthrow of the monarchy until statehood and the emergence of tourism as an economic force.

On Maui, the legacy of water diversion lives on in 24 miles of ditches and 50 miles of tunnels that funnel millions of gallons of water each day from East Maui to HC&S' vast fields in Central Maui.

Scott, 50, grew up seeing taro sprouting from small patches on her family's land at the end of a long, winding dirt road off Maui's Hana Highway.

But the family is now only able to farm nine patches — less than a quarter of the 40 their ancestors cultivated — because there's not enough water coming through Honopou stream. The limited flow stunts the taro's growth, making them prone to disease.

Taro is perhaps the most important crop in Hawaiian culture — considered a relative and a food staple.

It's used to make poi, a standard part of the traditional diet. And, according to legend, the taro plant and the boy who became the first human were born of the same parents. This means taro and humans share ancestors in Hawaiian tradition.

Scott wants her grandchildren to grow up around taro like she did. She says it will help them learn who they are, where they come from and grow up proud to be Hawaiian.

It's also important her grandchildren are able fish for crabs and fish in the streams and ocean like their ancestors. But she says the low water flow means the fish aren't plentiful.

"There goes our culture. How are we going to teach our children how to fish if the fish aren't there?" Scott said.

Native Hawaiians owning land along the 19 streams awaiting the water commission's decision also want to fish.

"Our clients are unable to engage in what was traditionally and customarily done in that area," said Moses Haia, another attorney with the Native Hawaiian corporation. "It's what makes them who they are."

Benjamin, the HC&S general manager, said water commission staff have indicated the streams have healthy populations and no species is listed as endangered.

He said restoring water to the streams would help fish populations recover, but he urged people to weigh this against the loss of 800 HC&S jobs paying an average of $50,000 per year. He warned a plantation's closure would reverberate through Maui, where HC&S is one of the largest employers.

"The adverse impact to the public of that would far outweigh any benefit that's going to occur as a result of letting water flow to the ocean," Benjamin said.

source: AP

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HONOLULU --

Hawaii's last sugar plantation could start producing jet fuel for the Navy.

Federal agencies on Wednesday announced they would spend millions of dollars to study producing advanced biofuels from sugarcane grown at Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar's fields on Maui.

The Office of Naval Research is budgeting $2 million annually for the project through 2015, with a focus on producing diesel and jet fuel from sugar.

The Department of Energy is spending $2 million a year to have the University of Hawaii study energy crop development and energy conversion technologies.

HC&S General Manager Chris Benjamin says his company will be a "working laboratory" to test the potential of biofuel production.

"This federal funding represents a vote of confidence in Hawaii and in the future of HC&S," Benjamin said in a news release. "It is a significant step toward our goal of transforming HC&S into a large-scale energy farm, playing a key role in securing Hawaii's energy future."

The company, a unit of Alexander & Baldwin Inc., said its vast fields, access to water, farming infrastructure and labor force make it an ideal candidate to produce biofuels on a large scale.

HC&S has long diverted water from East Maui streams to irrigate its fields in arid Central Maui. But this practice is currently facing challenges.

Taro farmers have petitioned the state's Commission on Water Resource Management to restore more flow to the streams, and prevent HC&S from diverting its usual volumes of water. The case is pending before the water commission.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, who met Wednesday with HC&S and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials about the project, said the research could benefit biofuel development efforts not just in Hawaii but also across the country.

"The sugar industry's infrastructure in Hawaii ... will be put to good use producing a variety of biofuels," said Inouye in a statement issued by the department.

source: forbes

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PUUNENE - Gaylord Kubota, the founding director of the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum, retires this week after more than 26 years of service.

"Probably the reality won't hit until I'm completely retired," the 66-year-old Kubota said last week. His official last day on the job is Wednesday.

"I devoted a good part of my life to this," he said, unable to pinpoint what he'll miss the most about the museum.

He's not severing all ties with the facility in Puunene, and has agreed to be available to the nonprofit museum as a consultant.

Prior to the development of the museum in the 1980s, Kubota had been manager of the Hawaii Immigrant Heritage Preservation Center at the Bishop Museum on Oahu for five years and had presented exhibits on ethnic groups that came to Hawaii to work on the sugar plantations.

His initial task here was to convert the home of the sugar mill superintendent into a museum that would capture the essence of the sugar industry on Maui.

After four years of planning, research and collecting artifacts, photographs and other materials, the Alexander & Baldwin Sugar Museum opened to the public in July 1987.

Most if not all the objects first displayed at that opening are still housed in the museum.

Kubota's accomplishments include a traveling historical photo exhibit on Paia, which had the distinction of being on display at the National Mall in Washington D.C. as part of the Smithsonian Institution's Festival of American Folklife in 1989. Two other photo exhibits featured the centennial of Japanese immigration to Hawaii and the Puunene camp reunion.

He said he's also happy to see the ongoing development of an online camp registry which includes hundreds of names of people who lived in plantation camps, and an education program which started in the 1990s and has had approximately 38,500 students, teachers and chaperones involved.

The state Department of Education adjusted its social studies requirement for 2nd to 6th-grade to include information about the sugar industry in Hawaii.

Kubota also produced what was called the Plantation Heritage series, which featured interviews with people who grew up in the plantation camps. The series first aired in 2000 on Akaku: Maui Community Television, with interviews continuously being produced through 2006, and then rebroadcast through this year.

Under Kubota's leadership, the museum has received local, state, national and international recognition.

The recognition over the years by museum visitors from across the country and those who lived during the sugar plantation days makes Kubota proud of the job he and his staff have done.

"People come in and they say 'I didn't know that' or 'wow that's interesting,'" he said. "Even Maui people saying that, that's a good thing."

To date, the sugar museum's visitor registry shows some 650,000 people have come through the site since the museum's opening.

Kubota said his life's work helped create "a highly regarded museum which preserves and passes on the sugar industry and multiethnic plantation life heritage that laid the foundation for Maui today. I view this as a way of giving back by making what I hope will be an enduring contribution to the community in which I grew up."

source: mauinews

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Sugar prices are at a 30-year high, and sugarcane farmers are hoping an above-average crop will help them bounce back from last year's hurricanes.

Harvest season begins next week for most Acadiana sugarcane farmers and mills.

While recent rains could muddy up the harvest, many growers remain optimistic thanks to a surge in sugar prices.

U.S. sugar prices have climbed to 29 cents a pound this month after languishing around 20 cents for much of the last two decades.

The sudden spike in prices is good news for farmers, who have struggled with rising input costs, hurricanes and other untimely weather conditions for the past few years.

"It's really been tough on growers the last 2-3 years," said Ben Legendre, sugar cane specialist with the LSU AgCenter.

"This (price) increase would go a long way toward helping them get out of debt and buy new equipment, which is desperately needed."

Youngsville farmer Dwayne Viator was wrapping up repairs to equipment Wednesday as he prepared to begin harvesting on his family's 4,500-acre farm next week.

Viator said he expects to bring in an above-average crop this year.

"Not an outstanding crop, but I think it will be a good crop," he said. "And the price this year has finally moved up for us. Every little bit helps."

The 2009 crop got off to a rough start when hurricanes Gustav and Ike delayed planting.

Then a prolonged dry spell set in last fall, stunting the growth of newly-planted cane.

Another drought set in this summer, but wet weather since then has helped this year's crop rebound.

The introduction of new varieties has also boosted yields, Legendre said.

"The crop has been very resilient," said Blair Hebert Iberia Parish Chair for the AgCenter.

"You've got to tip your hat to the farmers, because they have not had extended periods of good weather the last few years."

Recent rains have created another setback for farmers, Legendre said. Some cane has been lodged due to heavy rainfall, which could diminish the quality of the harvest.

While weather conditions haven't favored growers, it appears the economics of the sugar industry might finally be providing some relief.

Global demand for sugar has risen in recent years, partly reflecting rising incomes in developing nations.

In the U.S., there is no subsidy supporting the sugar industry, but the government does set a minimum price it must sell for, and restricts how much sugar is imported to keep the supply steady. About 10 million tons of sugar is consumed in the U.S. each year, Legendre said, and eight million of that grows domestically in Louisiana, Florida, Texas and Hawaii.

Sugar cane is produced on about 400,000 acres in 23 Louisiana parishes, including 160,000 acres in the eight-parish Acadiana area. Cane is processed in a dozen factories around the state, including five mills operating along the Bayou Teche in Iberia, St. Martin and St. Mary parishes.

Sugar mills sell sugar year-round, so farmers receive an average price rather than a market price.

But they still figure to earn about 2 cents more per pound than last year, enough to fund much-needed investment in the industry.

"A lot of growers are excited for the first time in quite a few years," Legendre said.

Source: theadvertiser

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Gay & Robinson will process its last sugar crops in October, ending 117 years in the sugar business on Kauai.

The private, family-owned company had announced last September that it was leaving the raw sugar business, but had not given a timetable for ending production.

Several plans for the land and mill that were announced last year have stalled.

Gay & Robinson had planned to grow crops for the production of ethanol, but it says high energy prices have scrapped those plans. It also had planned to lease its Kaumakani mill, terminal and other assets to Pacific West Energy LLC, with which it has partnered to develop an ethanol production plant. But those plans have been delayed by difficulties in finding financing.

“There is still hope that sugar cane growing might continue on the west side of Kauai should Pacific West Energy put together its plans for energy and ethanol production,” Gay & Robinson said in a statement.

In the meantime, it has leased some of its lands in west Kauai, including 3,400 acres to Dow AgroSciences, which grows corn seed, soybean and sunflower crops on Kauai and Molokai.

Gay & Robinson said its G&R Ranch operations are not affected by the mill’s shutdown.

The shutdown of the sugar operation leaves only one remaining sugar plantation and mill in Hawaii — Alexander & Baldwin’s Hawaii Commercial and Sugar Co. on Maui, which posted $13 million in operating losses in 2008.

Source: pacific.bizjournals

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Dow AgroSciences LLC has signed a multiyear lease for 3,400 acres from Gay & Robinson on the eastern ridge of Makaweli on Kauai for corn seed crops.

Operations will begin immediately, according to Dan Oleson, Dow's North America Operations Leader for Seeds.

Mycogen Seeds, Dow's local seed affiliate on Molokai, expects to hire more employees -- mostly from Kauai -- to start up its operations, though Oleson had no specific numbers at this time.

Currently, Mycogen, which has been on Molokai since 2000, has about 50 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees on the Friendly Isle.

"We are committed to the Kauai community and will continue the good land stewardship that Gay & Robinson has demonstrated over the past decades," said Adolph Helm, Mycogen Seeds' project leader on Molokai.

Gay & Robinson announced plans to end sugar production on Kauai after 119 years of business in September.

Seed crops, also known as genetically modified crops, have been the fastest-growing sector of the agricultural industry in Hawaii. In the 2007-2008 crop year, there were 10 farms in the state worth an estimated value of $146.3 million compared to just $70 million in the 2005-2006 season.

More sugar and pineapple lands, formerly the staples of agriculture in Hawaii, are being sold or leased to biotech seed companies that find Hawaii an ideal climate for year-round crops. Monsanto in 2007 acquired 2,300 acres of agricultural land from James Campbell Co. after Del Monte Fresh Produce Hawaii pulled out of its pineapple operations.

Biotech seed crops have been opposed, however, by environmental groups that say they are not adequately regulated, and can easily cross-contaminate neighboring conventional and organic farms.

Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff, who opposes genetically modified crops, said the trend is alarming.

"We continue to have a need for locally grown, sustainable crops to feed our population," said Achitoff. "Instead of doing that, we're filling the acreage with crops that don't feed anybody in Hawaii."

Dow AgroSciences' seed brands include Mycogen, Dairyland, Triumph, Brodbeck and Renze Seeds.

Helm said the company would focus mostly on seed corn crops, as well as some soybean and sunflower crops, but no "pharmacrops," or biopharmaceutical crops.

source: starbulletin

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It's impossible to visit Hawaii without seeing — if not sampling — Kona coffee in stores and restaurants. Better yet is a tour of its scenic source on the southwest side of the Big Island. But you can also get a locally grown and brewed cup of joe in other distinctive parts of the islands. While these beans may not have the bragging rights of Kona's, they make a sippable souvenir that also helps support agriculture, rather than redevelopment of former sugarcane fields. And with well-placed visitor centers, these coffee plantations should perk up any sightseeing itinerary.

KAUAI

Historic grounds: The Garden Isle town of Koloa was the site of the first commercial coffee farm in Hawaii, established in 1836, so it's fitting that the largest modern operation in the state, the Kauai Coffee Company, is only a few miles away. The vast plantation near Kalaheo, which began business as the McBryde Sugar Company in the early 1800s, added coffee in 1987 and eventually went all-java in 1995.

Given its size — more beans come from here than the entire Kona region — the coffee farm is surprisingly eco-friendly. Although more than 3,000 acres are in production, more than half of the company's land holdings are used for conservation. No insecticides are used on the coffee trees, which flower in February or March, produce fruit in May and are harvested mid-October through early December. Water used from processing the beans is filtered and returned via drip irrigation, while pulp from the coffee "cherries" and prunings becomes mulch for the field.

Today's brew: Visitors can take a pleasantly short, self-guided tour through a garden and processing area, watch a video about coffee production or browse a small room of coffee exhibits and paraphernalia. But the real reason to stop by is free samples of about a dozen types of coffee, made from a variety of roasts (French, Vienna, etc.) and five kinds of arabica beans (yellow and red catuai, typica, Blue Mountain and Mundo Novo).

Open daily, the Kauai Coffee Company's visitor center also offers a snack shop with home-baked pastries and ice cream, plus the requisite gift shop with souvenirs, specialty foods and a rainbow of coffees.

Added perk: A short detour off Highway 50 between Lihue and Waimea, Kauai Coffee makes a practical pit stop on the way to or from Waimea Canyon.

OAHU

Historic grounds: The islands' most famous pineapple producer, a family-run North Shore fashion business and an old sugar mill may seem an unlikely combination to produce Oahu's only commercial coffee, but for the last five years it's worked in Waialua.

The Waialua Sugar Mill operated for 100 years before shutting down in 1996, a heavy blow to the North Shore plantation town. After a failed foray into growing coffee on the former cane fields, Dole Food waited a few years before trying again — this time with roasting, sales and tours by Bill and Reba Martin of Island X Hawaii.

Today's brew: Dole tends about 140 acres of trees on breezy, north-facing slopes in the North Shore town. Island X Hawaii buys the raw arabica beans (Guatemalan typica), which are processed through either washing or a natural drying method, and does all its own roasting, labeling and packaging.

Old Sugar Mill Waialua Coffee is only available at the airy shop, found in the former sugar mill's 1950s-era garage (once used to service the big cane-hauling trucks). The Martins give free samples of the coffee and chocolate from locally grown cacao, along with free "mini tours" of the adjacent mill and trees; they also sell home-roasted Kona and other unblended island coffees.

Added perk: Island X Hawaii serves shave ice — including flavorings from Waialua mangoes, pineapples and, of course, coffee — and there's more to see at the Old Sugar Mill. The North Shore Soap Factory, which uses natural and local ingredients, offers daily tours, while on Saturdays the mill hosts the Waialua Farmers Market, popular for its kiawe-grilled huli huli chicken and North Shore produce.

MOLOKAI

Historic grounds: For many years, the rich volcanic soil of Kualapu'u — the name of the cinder cone and town in central Molokai — provided a fertile bed for Del Monte's pineapple fields. After the company shut the plantation down in 1988, coffee seemed the next logical choice.

But the new business struggled for years until a coffee grower from Nicaragua, who had deep family ties to Hawaii, bought the land in 2004 along with a small group of co-owners from California's Central Valley. They officially named their business the Friendly Isle Coffee Company, as a nod to Molokai's nickname, but operate as Coffees of Hawaii to reflect their offerings from other islands as well.

Today's brew: From its 300 acres in Kualapu'u, Coffees of Hawaii produces four basic kinds of 100 percent Molokai arabica coffee — the wet-processed Malulani, the dry-processed Muleskinner, the Polynesian vanilla-flavored Island Princess and Molokai Style Espresso. It also buys and roasts 100 percent Kona coffee and uses its Nicaraguan beans to blend with coffee from Maui, Kona and the Friendly Isle, which you can buy along with souvenirs in the gift shop at its visitor center.

Open daily, the center is a rare tourist attraction on quiet Molokai: Its espresso bar and cafe are a popular stop on the way to or from the trailhead used by hikers and mule riders to Kalaupapa, the historic former leper colony. It also features live Hawaiian music on Sundays, a free self-guided "deck tour" and guided tours on foot ($20 adults) or in a mule-drawn wagon ($10 kids, $35 adults). Click here for contact information to book guided tours in advance.

Added perk: If you want to linger longer, the plantation rents out its two-bedroom, two-bath farmhouse called Hale Kope ("Coffee House") for $225 a night; it sleeps up to seven people, with cable, Internet and other modern conveniences not always associated with sleepy Molokai.

MAUI

Historic grounds: For nearly 130 years, Pioneer Mill grew sugarcane on a vast tract above Ka'anapali Beach in West Maui, before switching to coffee in 1988. The company tested the waters with four varieties — red catuai, yellow caturra, typica and what became known as mokka — but by 2001, gave up on coffee as a large-scale project and left the trees irrigated but untended.

Fortunately, Pioneer agricultural researcher James "Kimo" Falconer saw other possibilities for the farm. After leasing 500 acres of the four varieties, he produced the first harvest of MauiGrown Coffee in 2004.

Today's brew: A number of local roasters use MauiGrown beans for their coffee creations, sold in stores throughout Hawaii and brewed in Valley Isle cafes. The green and white MauiGrown Coffee Company Store, next to Lahaina's iconic smokestack on Lahainaluna Road, offers the estate's green and roasted Maui coffee in 100 percent and blended versions, as well as other Hawaiian coffees. Open daily except Sundays, the store also stocks MauiGrown Sugar — all the better to sweeten your drinks while supporting agritourism.

Added perk: If you really like what you see, and taste, you can purchase a three- to seven-acre farm with room for a house in the Ka'anapali Coffee Farms development on the former Pioneer plantation. The current price list for lots starts at $1.2 million — but at least the farm work is taken care of for you.


BIG ISLAND

Historic grounds: It can be hard to get attention when you're growing in the shadow of Kona coffee, vaunted for being harvested by hand on flavor-enhancing volcanic terrain. But the rugged Ka'u (Ka‘ū in Hawaiian) district on the southern tip of the Big Island is no java-come-lately: Coffee was a commercial crop here as early as 1896.

However, big sugar won out in the contest for land and laborers, at least until 1996,when the Ka'u plantation closed. After Ka'u Farm and Ranch started leasing small plots to coffee farmers, they slowly sharpened their skills in growing, hand-picking and roasting coffee. Virtually unknown at the time, the region's coffee made a splash at the Specialty Coffee Association of America's annual international cupping contest in 2007 by coming in sixth (it placed seventh in this year's contest.)

At the same time, the collapse of the Big Island's sugar industry has also brought coffee growing to the Puna, Hilo and Hamakua districts on the Big Island's East Side. Most farms are small, family-run businesses.

Today's brew: The Ka'u coffee renaissance has yet to achieve the tourist accessibility of Kona, but it's expected that the Ka'u Coffee Festival, which takes place this April 24-26 in Pahala, will become an annual event. Meanwhile, you can find Ka'u coffee for sale, along with other local goodies, at the Na'alehu Farmers Market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and at some stores on the Big Island.

Two of Hawaii's top chefs have also given their imprimatur to Ka'u caffeine: It's served at Alan Wong's self-titled restaurant in Honolulu and at Merriman's in Kapalua (the Maui branch of chef Peter Merriman's Big Island restaurant).

Added perk: Na'alehu is a convenient place for a pick-me-up on the road from Kailua-Kona to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Heading from the park towards Hilo, stop at the Hilo Coffee Mill in Mountain View to sample an intriguing variety of East Side coffee and watch beans being processed; it's open daily except Saturday.

SOURCE: sfgate

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HONOLULU-- Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:AXB) (“Company”) today announced key organization changes in its agribusiness segment, which includes Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (“HC&S”), the state’s only remaining operating sugar company. Senior vice president Christopher J. Benjamin will assume general manager duties at HC&S while continuing to serve as A&B’s chief financial officer and treasurer. Former HC&S general manager Frank E. Kiger will be leading the Company’s Maui Brand® Sugar operations, a key area of growth for HC&S.

“HC&S is going through the most difficult period in its history, having suffered record-setting droughts in 2007 and 2008 and an unprecedented rise in the cost of fuel and basic commodities it uses to produce sugar and power. In addition, recent regulatory decisions have severely impacted power sales revenue and other parts of our business, while suppressed raw sugar prices limit our earnings potential in the near term,” said Stanley M. Kuriyama, A&B president.

“We are at a pivotal point, and Chris is the right person to lead HC&S. He has a good working knowledge of the business, a strong manufacturing and operations background, and has led the Company’s energy initiatives for the past 18 months. Chris has the full backing of the Company to achieve a turnaround. While the challenges at HC&S are formidable, I am confident that Chris and our dedicated employees at the plantation will chart the best course of action for the company.”

In 2008, the Company’s Agribusiness segment lost nearly $13 million, attributable to losses at HC&S. In 2009, it is expected that greater HC&S losses will be incurred due to the impact of prior drought conditions, manifested in lower sugar yields and production; a significant pension cost increase due to the 2008 decline in pension asset values; and revenue reductions in power sales.

In addition to Benjamin’s assignment, the Company announced that Kiger will head up all of the Maui Brand® Sugar operations at HC&S. “Having Frank available to focus 100% on Maui Brand Sugar is strategic to HC&S’ future,” continued Kuriyama. “His contacts throughout the sugar industry, and the nation’s food manufacturing sectors, will be a key to increasing revenues for HC&S from these higher-value sugar products.”

As planned, G. Stephen Holaday will retire from his position as president, Agribusiness, where he held oversight responsibility for A&B’s Kauai Coffee Company, Kahului Trucking & Storage, and Kauai Commercial Company. These operations will report to Kuriyama on an interim basis. Holaday will retire effective April 15, 2009, capping off a 26-year career at A&B, including eleven years as HC&S general manager. Immediately prior to moving to HC&S, Holaday had been the chief financial officer and treasurer of A&B-Hawaii, Inc., then A&B’s real estate and agricultural subsidiary. “We are grateful to Steve for his willingness to take on new management roles over the years and for his many contributions to the Company,” said Kuriyama, “and we wish him all the best in his well-earned retirement years.”

About Alexander & Baldwin: A&B is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii and is engaged in ocean transportation and logistics services through its subsidiaries, Matson Navigation Company, Inc., Matson Integrated Logistics, Inc. and Matson Global Distribution Services; in real estate through A&B Properties, Inc.; and in food products through Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company and Kauai Coffee Company, Inc. Additional information about A&B may be found at its web site: www.alexanderbaldwin.com.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. This release should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the SEC through the date of this release, which identify important factors that could affect the forward-looking statements in this release.

source: businesswire

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