Headlines:
| Coffee farmers want their money |
|
|
| Saturday, 02 August 2008 | |
Scores of Coffee farmers are expressing concern over the
non payment of money they claim is owed to them from the sale of the crop to
one of the island's main coffee factories.The coffee farmers claim that the Wallenford Coffee Factory in St. Andrew failed to make final payments on the due date, which was advertised as July 31. The farmers said they turned up for payment for cherry coffee sold to the factory 12 months ago as part of the 2007/2008 crop season. However, they said the payment was not made and they were given no official date when final cheques will be issued. Representative of the Coffee Farmers Association Derrick Simon told RJR News that the non-payment could cause problems in an already ailing sector. "I'm very concerned as farmers have never had to wait for over a year to receive their final payments for the previous crop year. This is signaling the death of the industry," said Mr. Simon. The farmers have also expressed concern that the factory is moving ahead with plans to purchase coffee for the 2008/2009 season without finalising outstanding payments. Our News centre was unable to make contact with anyone from the Wallenford Coffee factory. |