Year: 2024

Jose Abelardo Mai, the Minister of Agriculture, says he has never called in any favors on behalf of individuals smuggling sugar across Belize’s border. His statement follows reports that sitting ministers have been requesting that sugar smugglers be given a pass at the western and northern border points, as they seek to illegally transport sugar into neighboring countries. Wholesalers are fetching double the price of locally produced sugar across the border. Minister Mai acknowledged that sugar smuggling is one of the primary causes of sugar shortage in Belize.  He also says that the accusations against him and his Cabinet colleagues are simply mischief making.

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“Well this is not abnormal to hear the accusations, especially when elections are coming. Bit I will tell you something and I said this to Mr. Patt who I believe is my friend. He is a farmer and we share many conversations together. I said in parliament this Minister, Jose Mai, has never picked up the phone to call anybody to give them any break to transport sugar and I can categorically say that. Clearly, I this man has never done so and will never do so when it comes to sugar. Because we have been seeing this problem for a very long time now and I have been trying to fight and fix the problem. It is not easy. I am between a rock and a hard place, because I have taken this issue to Cabinet a number of times. The only way we will fix and I am not sure it will fix it completely is to make some proper adjustments to the sugar structure. The maximum wholesale price for sugar is seventy-five cents. It is sold at sixty-seven cents. That is a nine cents increase. For brown sugar it is thirty four cents and sold at thirty nine cents, five cents. Can you imagine somebody from Toledo coming to buy a thousand sacks of sugar or five hundred sacks and sell it for that? Who will he sell it to? And sell it to the Chinese store, he can only sell it for seventy-five cents.  So there is np profit. The only people that can survive selling sugar with that price control in place are those in the wholesale business with other products. So you load your truck with all import products and one subsidize the other. But it is difficult for anybody who is only in the business of selling sugar to survive selling that sugar locally.”

Minister Mai also responded to questions pertaining to discussions about an increase in the price of sugar. Mai says, the Belize Sugar Industries Limited has requested an increase, but they have not been forthcoming with the data to justify such request. So, it is yet to be seen if the price of sugar will be adjusted. Here is how he puts it.

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“B.S.I. has requested to us to make adjustments to the price of sugar, upward adjustments. In 2014, when they requested that they make adjustments that is when it went to seventy-five cents. But it was not a proper structure to say wholesale will be this, retail will be this and we can see where people are making their profit. Only seventy-five cents and you see how you manage. I don’t know how the government then decided to put that structure in place without thinking what problems they would cause. So that structure is causing the problem today, because there is no leeway for anybody to make profits and the price remains suppressed. B.S.I. had asked us to adjust the price, we met with them. In 2014 when you requested that increase you gave us a justification. In 2014 the government said give me a justification. What is the cost and they said the cost is irrelevant. We are worried about the cost in Mexico and Guatemala. I say to them, we the Ministry cannot base the increase on sugar based on what is sold in Guatemala or Mexico. We have to base the cost of sugar on the cost of production. Cost have gone up across the board. They have not given us that information yet. But we cannot just raise the price just because of the price in Guatemala. I cannot be worried about the cost in Guatemala. I have to be worried about the cost in Belize and the people of Belize.”

Earlier this week, we told you that the Belize Sugar Industries is accusing the Commission of Inquiry of changing its focus. B.S.I. noted in a press release that it will not cooperate in an inquiry that will be used as an avenue to create a new commercial agreement. B.S.I. also stated that it cannot share proprietary and confidential information. Well, Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai is firing back. He says B.S.I. ‘s release comes as a surprise because they contributed to the commission’s terms of reference and recommended two commissioners. He contended that they should be more concerned about their credibility.

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“I was concerned that the crop is coming to an end shortly and there is np Inquiry. So, I said let us move forward with the commission. I was surprised to see the release they issue they issued last week saying that we changed focus. No sir, the focus never changed. The Commission of Inquiry will make recommendations and then they decide if they want to follow the recommendations. But it is important for the commission of Inquiry to begin during the crop so that imperial measurements be taken and the recommendations be based on that.”

Paul Lopez
“Is the Inquiry a process to aid negotiations towards an agreement as they suggest?”

Jose Abelardo Mai
“In my view after imperial evidence are taken and interviews and observations at the mill are done and the experts, cause these are experts, come with recommendations and say listen, I believe that this is what should be done, we can either do this, this or this, it is a recommendation. And if that will help in the process of understanding a good commercial agreement then why not. As a matter of fact, it can lay the foundation for a good, modern, updated and fair sugar industry act which is fifty years old.”

Reporter
“What they are saying is that you all are presuming to inquire into their private business affairs and every private business has a right to keep their corporate affairs private.”

Jose Abelardo Mai
“The Commission of Inquiry should be focused on the shared cost of the farmers and the Miller and I made the example in cabinet. I cannot go to SanCas and say I want a commission of inquiry on the milk we import because I am not forced to buy your milk. And two, I don’t share cost with you. It is a buy and sell. The sugar industry is a very peculiar arrangement with farmers. It is the only one in the country that shares costs with the farmers. So it is not a private business, an ordinary private business. This is a very peculiar type where the farmers share the cost, and the farmers are saying listen I just want to ensure you are charging me what is right.”

The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association issued a late afternoon release noting its delight after learning that the Commission of Inquiry has commenced its work. The release further states the BSCFA is disappointed with the commission’s decision to not conduct its inquiry in public. The association urged the commission to reconsider this decision. As it relates to B.S.I./A.S.R., the association says the company is seeking to, “deliberately frustrate or prolong the work of the Commission or to refuse to be transparent by hiding information or to assert that it is untouchable.” BSCFA also says that it disagrees with the notion that the Commission’s report should not be used to facilitate the negotiations towards a commercial agreement.

Recently the Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow said that the Opposition demanded that a redistricting exercise be held before the next general elections. Well, a member of the Belize Peace Movement, which took the matter to court prior to the last general election, is asking Barrow, why make the demand now? Paco Smith is also a claimant in the case against the government and the Election and Boundaries Department.  He told News Five that B.P.M. would like to know why a concerted effort has not been taken on what needs to be done.

Paco Smith, Member, Belize Peace Movement

“First and foremost, whenever a politician talks, you have to understand that there’s more than likely an underlying interest, right. So we can’t take it exactly at face value. I will say that it’s good that he mentioned it and what his position is, but our question to him is what took you so long? This case has been, I will say bubbling up in the courts for approximately the past four years. Now, I know that the Leader of the Opposition made a comment about 12 months ago, and at that time he made some salient points. Of course, we understand that there were some political “isms” involved as well. But the operative question is, why has the Opposition been so silent on this matter for the past 12 months, since his last statement? Depending on what his response is to that, we’d like to know what has changed, why have there not been a concerted effort to do precisely what he said needs to be done. And the third thing that we would like to point out is that in life, and in particular when you’re dealing with matters that involve political elements, number one, it’s one thing to say something. Number two, it’s a different thing to say something in a timely manner and fashion. And number three, it’s a completely different thing to actually do something about it.”