Posted: February 22, 2016. 6:40 p.m. CST.
By Aaron Humes: 123 workers exited Fruta Bomba factory in Corozal after the employer shut its doors on Friday, signalling the certain death knell of the papaya industry. 
Today Minister of Agriculture Gaspar Vega sympathized with the workers but said Government is limited in what it can do. He hopes they can transition into the sugar industry in the short term but offered no long term prospects.
The Minister said he was not aware of the employers’ efforts to engage Government on issues of permits and other items they needed to continue the industry. He maintained that Fruta Bomba’s and other papaya manufacturers’ problems started several years ago – with Mother Nature: hurricanes wrecked infrastructure and the economy did the rest.
The Ministry of Labour has pledged to assist the workers with getting what they are due.
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