HONOLULU – The National Agricultural Statistics Service is forecasting that sugar cane production in Hawaii will slip slightly this year.
It expects the state to produce 1.46 million tons of sugar cane in 2009. That would be a 2 percent decline from the 1.49 million tons produced last year.
The service says Hawaii is expected to harvest 21,700 acres of sugar cane this year. That would be down from 22,800 acres harvested in 2008.
However, yield is forecast to reach 67.2 tons per acre, up 2.6 percent from 65.5 tons per acre last year.