The Windalco bauxite plants in Kirkvine, Manchester, and Ewarton, St Catherine, were in many ways the land of milk and honey, part of Jamaica's foreign-exchange cash cows. But few would have thought that the shuttering of the plants earlier this year would have had consequences, beyond the metaphor, to real cows and, more pointedly, real milk.

Windalco, which has a heavy farming portfolio, is the second largest producer of milk behind Serge Island. The company produced 24 per cent of the country's milk last year.

UC Rusal, the major shareholder in the Windalco, closed the plants in response to a plunge in demand for alumina caused by the global recession.

However, while the decline in milk production by the company this year is said to be slightly lower than last year's, Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton fears that major worries for UC Rusal could spell more trouble for Jamaica.

"The 4,000-odd cattle stock that they have may be an insignificant part of their portfolio, but for us, it is absolutely critical in terms of our dairy and beef production," Tufton told The Gleaner yesterday.

Unpaid debt

Last month, Alfa Bank said it filed suits over an unpaid debt of US$71.2 million (€48.1 million) from the two UC Rusal firms. The enterprises had been targeted in suits by Alfa Bank, Russia's largest private bank, and a creditor of UC Rusal, which has taken a tough stance in negotiations on restructuring its owner, Oleg Deripaska's, vast debts. The bank had made bankruptcy claims against Rusal enterprises.

"The environment is quite challenging," Tufton told The Gleaner. "We recognise that, and as a consequence, we want to ensure that we have a contingent strategy just in case there is a need for changes."

Tufton's concerns come three months after his state minister, J.C. Hutchinson, warned that Jamaica could suffer from a shortage of milk if Windalco's cattle stock is not carefully managed.

"It is expected that the uncertainties surrounding Windalco's operation will negatively affect its output," Hutchinson said in his Sectoral Debate presentation in August.

Tufton told The Gleaner that he had dialogue with UC Rusal, through the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), on Wildalco's cattle stock with a view to remedying the situation.

"Although we have received some assurances from UC Rusal through the JBI, we are also sensitive to the rapidly changing and challenging environment, and so would like to be in a position to respond if we have to," he said.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com