B.S.I Says Sugar Commission Report Includes Its Recommendations  

The Commission of Inquiry’s report on Belize’s sugar industry, completed at the end of November 2024, is still under wraps. The commission handed the report to the prime minister, who will decide when to share it with the public. Mac McLoughlin, General Manager of A.S.R/B.S.I, hinted that a sneak peek at the documents shows many of the sugar factory’s recommendations were included. Meanwhile, Alfredo Ortega from the B.S.C.F.A. mentioned that they are eagerly waiting to see what the report contains.

 

Mac McLoughlin, General Manager, A.S.R/B.S.I

“What we’ve seen so far, I mean, it really just tells us what we were expecting, which is that we really need to concentrate on modernizing and improving the productivity and quality in the cane farm, you know. I think the commission will be recommending a number of things, including quality testing and improved quality testing of cane in the future. Increasing, amounts of replanting of cane because these things are not rocket science. This is what any modern industry has to do, and I assume it will be talking about finding funding for, for farmers to be able to achieve that because that’s what’s required, that we need investment in the cane farm. The factory has had a lot of investment in it and I think if we can get to the right quality levels, we can prove what our industry here can achieve.”

 

Alfredo Ortega, Chairman, Committee of Management, B.S.C.F.A, Orange Walk Branch

“The Prime Minister said that report will give an opportunity to better off the Sugar Industry Act. So we are waiting on that so that we can also have our start the negotiation with BSI in regards to our agreement based on what the Commission brings out.”