Bethel Town sorrel factory hits rock bottom

WESTERN BUREAU:

The poor storage of raw material is being blamed for the current inactivity at the J$27.8-million sorrel-processing factory in Bethel Town, Westmoreland, which was officially opened in 2014, but ceased operations two years ago.

"It's closed. Nothing is being manufactured in there for approximately two years," said Danree Delancy, the councillor for the area and deputy mayor of Savanna-la-Mar. "We had actually started out doing the sorrel bag juice along with a portion of sorrel jams."

"The schools in the parish were really the main customers, they were taking most of the finished produce, and it was going well, but other overhead expenses wiped out the little financing, and then they had some problems with spoilage with raw material," added Delancy.

The councillor said the facility is badly in need of a commercial dryer as, according to him, such an equipment is needed to dry the sorrel because prior to the closure, that much-needed raw material was being stored improperly, resulting in significant spoilage.

The Jamaica Social Development Fund provided $23.2 million towards the construction of the Bethel Town-based sorrel factory, while members of the community, through the Bethel Town Agricultural Cooperative Society, came up with J$4.6 million.

According to Delancy, some 70 people have been displaced as a result of the sorrel factory being forced to close its doors. He said the situation was not sustainable as a result of the lop-sided operational cost.

FUNDING

"The Bethel Town Agricultural Cooperative need capital funding to re-open the factory, that is what is impacting the factory at this time," said Delancy. "You buy a man sorrel and it spoil on you, you have to find money to pay him just the same, so the spoilage was really hurting their bottom line, hurt them tremendously, and that's one of the main reasons why the factory is closed today."

Delancy said he has been having dialogue with a representative from the Jamaica Agriculture Society (JAS), through the Bethel Town Agricultural Cooperative Society, who were the operators of the sorrel factory. He said he wants to tour the factory with them to see what level of funding is required and how it can be accessed.

"We are waiting on the JAS president [Lenworth Fulton] to look at the facility and to decide on what they can do from their end to assist in getting the sorrel project revitalised in order to have it as an economic benefit to farmers in and around the area," stated Delancy.