Another fire broke out in sugar-cane plantations in Mauritius and about 250 acres of sugar-cane farms were destroyed on Wednesday in the country's northern town of Forbach.

The fire-fighters took about four hours to put off the fire which was threatening to spread to the neighboring houses, some of which were still under construction.

Even though no deaths were reported, the sugar-cane plantations belonging to three sugar factories, Terra, Labourdonnais and Rouillard & Brothers were completely destroyed.

Until now, the cause of the fire is still unknown.

The Forbach fire is an addition to the numerous tragedies that have already destroyed thousands of acres of sugar-cane plantations for small scale farmers.

Kreepalloo Sunghoon who is the secretary for the Association of Small Scale farmers said that the destruction of their sugar-cane by fire will translate into reduced income from their farms.

An official from the Sugar-cane union said that small scale farmers produce about 1.3 million tons of sugar cane per year.

However, between 30 to 35 percent of their fields are always burnt down each year.

Mauritius produces about 4.5 million tons of sugar-cane every year, and this translates to about 450,000 tons of sugar.

In September, when over 1,005 acres of sugar cane plantations were razed down, the country's Agriculture Minister Satish Faugoo did not hide his anger.

Faugoo noted that "there were strong indications that it was a criminal act" and he warned that those found to have caused the fire risked going to prison for over 20 years for their criminal actions.

Given that the sugar industry is one of the pillars of the Mauritius economy, the minister warned that the government would not tolerate any such acts especially "at this time when the country's economy is sluggish."