Hawaii sugar industry closes down

Hawaii’s sugar industry is going to shut down, as the last sugar plantation company of the US state has declared its decision to stop its operations.

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. has announced that it will harvest its last sugar cane by the end of 2016. The company is going to divide its 36,000 acre-Maui plantation in smaller farms to grow food crops and biofuels. A part of the land will be irrigated for pasture to local cattle ranchers, The Associate Press reports.

"This is a sad day for A&B, and it is with great regret that we have reached this decision," A&B CEO Christopher Benjamin said in a press release. "This transition will certainly impact these employees and we will do everything we can to assist them.”

There are 675 people working for A&B’s Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar subsidiary. Around half of them will lose their job in March, according to the company founded 145 years ago by Protestant missionaries. A significant part of the company is now focused on real estate.

The local economy was once powered by the sugar industry which attracted hundreds of immigrants to the volcanic archipelago in the Central Pacific. “The cessation of sugar operations also will have a significant impact on the Maui community and we will do our best to minimize that impact,” Benjamin said.

The company said it is committed to supporting the employees who are going to be laid off. It will provide transition coordinators to assist HC&S employees in finding alternate employment opportunities. The coordinators will identify and get in touch with available federal, state, county and private job assistance programs, the company statement says.