Sugar was extremely profitable, but its production required a large amount of labor. To maximize profits, sugar plantations acquired slaves. When the plantations started to grow in the Americas, the need for skilled slaves also increased. The best workers for the Atlantic and Caribbean plantations were from West Africa. As the industry grew, the slave price also grew. When slavery was abolished, the labor to maintain the sugar plantations was too expensive.
The rapid expansion of the sugar industry caused the prices to decrease significantly. As the price dropped, sugar production remained the same and even increased in some countries, lowering the price further. Countries were competing against one another, and some, such as Jamaica, did not have the quality or volume of others, such as Cuba. In Guyana, which was colonized primarily to produce sugar, the sugar industry expanded rapidly from its introduction in 1630.
Jamaica's colonial wars and wars for independence affected the trade of sugar, and the sugar plantations declined. In the 1920s and 1930s, sugar production declined significantly because of the Depression. Unemployment and low wages were the norm. The economy stagnated and people had poor living conditions. In St. John in 1733, slave revolts led to the adoption of a slave code, according to Virgin Islands Now, and plantations were destroyed in the revolt. Heavy excise taxes and tariffs also caused declines from export countries.
In Jamaica, the sugar industry has been disrupted due to famine and hurricanes. Social unrest began as drought and disease caused severe economic decline in Jamaica during the 19th century, according to Country Studies. Plantation owners looked for other products to grow and by 1890 bananas took the place of sugar as the principal export. As the industry consolidated in the 1980s, countries such as Guyana saw a reduction in sugar production and plantation needs. Sugar plantations took a lot of work, and the land had to be cleared before planting. Clearing the trees made the soil thin and removed the nutrients. St. John also encountered drought, hurricanes and insect plagues.