Agriculture Minister Senator Erskine Griffith says Barbados is reaping success with its specialty sugars on the international market.

He said demand in the United Kingdom for two branded sugars which were placed on the market last year far outstripped initial expectations and the country would now be seeking to divert some of its European Union (EU) bulk sugar quota to satisfy the demand.

Speaking during the three-day Budget Debate in the Upper Chamber, Griffith said the Plantation Reserve and Muscavado Gold brands were being sold in the U.K. by Waitrose, a supermarket with 160 outlets, and Harrods, and were being used in the Ritz-Carlton hotels.

Bulk sugar

"These branded sugars have the potential for Barbados to receive revenue far in excess of anything that we now earning or have been earning in the recent past from selling bulk sugar to the EU," he added.

He said discussions were taking place with interests in Canada, Ireland and the United States to develop additional markets for the brands.

Griffith said Barbados would seek to move out of the bulk sugar market as soon as possible and concentrate its efforts on the specialty market.

"Our position in relation to the EU's quota is that the quota is now 32,097 tonnes and it is for bulk sugar, but in there you have an element of just over 4,000 tonnes of specialty sugars which we now supply to the U.K. outside of anything to do with the brands of which I speak," said the Agriculture Minister.

"The price for the EU has continued to fall. You know that so we are not going to be continuing with bulk sugar for too much longer because it is not a price that is profitable for us. Our emphasis is going to be on special sugars and we have taken the position that we should get our quota converted."

CMC