Statement by Judy Sanchez, U.S. Sugar Senior Director for Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, Regarding the Impact of Hurricane Irma
“First and foremost, our employees and their families are safe. As for our sugarcane and citrus crops, we are conducting field by field and grove by grove assessments that will take days, possibly weeks, before we understand the actual impact. What we do know is that we have already seen a minimum of $20 million and counting in damages to our buildings and property. Fortunately, due to the dedicated response of our people, our sugar refinery in Clewiston is already back in operation and delivering sugar to our customers.
U.S. Sugar’s efforts are also focused on ensuring that our local communities and other local farmers get back on their feet as quickly as possible. We are doing everything we can to expedite supplies of water, ice, and other necessities into our communities. Farmers are a most resilient bunch. We will be back, stronger for this struggle.
We hope other areas suffering damages from the storm also are able to recover quickly.”