NEW ORLEANS After years of fighting storms and flat prices, Louisiana sugar
cane growers at the heart of a $2 billion industry are hoping for better
financial times as farmers and the food industry unite to get the product from
the fields to the consumer in a direct line.
Construction is under way on a $190 million sugar refinery near Gramercy,
northwest of New Orleans, that will be able to produce 1 million tons of sugar
annually. In a joint venture with two food giants Cargill Inc. and the
Imperial Sugar Co. growers say the refinery, expected to begin processing in
2011, will give them a steady market for Louisiana cane that will support higher
prices.
It’s the first time state growers have been involved in such a field-to-consumer
venture. For Cargill, it will provided the company’s first entry into the
processed sugar market.
Photo Caption: Projects E&I Manager Bob Christianson (right), and refinery
manager Jack Thompson go over final plans before starting construction at site
of new LSR refinery.
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The Associated Press