KAUMAKANI — Gay & Robinson, Inc. announced Wednesday that “subject to favorable weather, the last sugar cane grown by the company will be processed by the mill in late October.” The historic Westside company, which began growing cane on Kaua‘i
KAUMAKANI — Gay & Robinson, Inc. announced Wednesday that “subject to favorable weather, the last sugar cane grown by the company will be processed by the mill in late October.”
The historic Westside company, which began growing cane on Kaua‘i in 1892, said in a news release that it tried to keep sugar alive but over the past five years has faced “mounting debt due to low sugar prices and high energy prices.”
G&R said it is keeping its hopes alive that sugar cane might continue to be grown on Kaua‘i should Pacific West Energy put together its plans for energy and ethanol production.
Some G&R employees were recently hired by Dow AgroSciences, which is leasing some of G&R’s cane lands to develop further hydroelectric generation from its water sources.
G&R still plans to offer housing for its retirees and employees affected by the shut down, the release says. The company will still offer limited employment in support of company housing and future hydroelectric plans.
The company did not say in the release how many employees will be impacted by the decision, but did say the G&R Ranch operation is not affected.
“I can’t express how saddened I am for the employees and their families and for all of Kaua‘i to see our last remaining sugar plantation close its doors for good,” Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said in a statement Wednesday evening. “Although we all knew it was coming, that doesn’t make it any easier. … We will be working closely with all involved to keep this land in agricultural production and get these new opportunities off the ground as quickly as possible.”
See an upcoming edition of The Garden Island for further coverage of this news.
