BSCFA Official Says Fair Trade Agreement Blocks Them from Certain

In a recent interview, the PM mentioned that the B.S.C.F.A. is hesitant to sign the Fair Trade letter of enhancement. He pointed out that this reluctance is causing cane farmers in the association to miss out on potential benefits. Today, Ortega explained that there are valid reasons for not signing the letter. One major concern is that it restricts them from taking certain actions, like communicating with the government or voicing their concerns.

 

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

“I wouldn’t say it’s just a crazy refusal from our side, but in regards to what it entails, and we have sent this information to the Prime Minister. He’s not ignorant to it. We have sent to him all the information that we have gathered from Tate and Lyle on which they are forcing us to sign a letter of enhancement, where it is blocking us from many things that once we sign, we are unable to do, to which we say no. We cannot go in that way. We, as a certified organization, under the fair trade, the standard doesn’t speak for a letter of enhancement to be signed with Tate and Lyle. There are criteria in the standard that we comply with and we have not signed the letter of enhancement because of the points that it has that block us from not speaking to our leaders in government, that we should not do certain things, that we should not be speaking out whenever there issues that we are not happy with or we don’t agree. So that is why.”