St. James sugar mill to close

A sugar mill here that employed 75 full-time workers will close down after a deal to keep it open fell through, officials said.

Paul Aucoin, chairman of the St. James Parish economic-development board, said the farmers’ cooperative that owns the South Louisiana Sugars Cooperative had been trying to sell the mill to M.A. Patout & Son of Jeanerette, but the deal fell through.

It was one of 17 sugar mills in Louisiana.

The mill’s workers had been on furlough since April 30 because management said it was unsure if the money was available to pay them.

The mill employed about 75 full-time workers and about 75 seasonal workers during grinding season.

Aucoin said efforts by the parish and the Louisiana Economic Development Department to keep the sugar mill open failed.