Agriculture - Channel 5 Belize

Commission Report on Sugar is Disseminated

Commission of Inquiry Report on the Sugar Industry has been handed over to Prime Minister John Briceño. The commission was set up to tackle two main issues: resolving the ongoing conflicts between Belize Sugar Industries and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and making recommendations to improve the overall sugar industry. Today, we spoke with Lead Coordinator Hugh O’Brien, who mentioned that while the parties are still reviewing the two-hundred-page document, he highlighted the main points of contention. He noted that the Prime Minister has agreed to share the report with the key stakeholders, including the four cane farmers associations, B.S.I., and Santander. O’Brien described the process as intense but said the report contains some solid recommendations. He shared the main points that justified the inquiry.

Hugh O’Brien, Lead Coordinator, Commission of Inquiry

“One of them is the stevedoring cost, the port charges, if I can use that. That was settled to a large extent – my involvement of having compared the two ports and I provided a very detailed report on the costings. The second one is a manufacturing allowance, which is one-fifty Belize per ton for local white sugar, and it’s one-sixty per ton for direct consumption sugars that are exported to Caribbean countries and to Europe and the B.S.C.F.A. in particular has questioned those charges. And so the request, was that a breakdown of how you arrive at those charges or what’s the cost to produce the sugar and to get it to that point – white sugar for the local market, DC sugar for the regional and international market. So that there could have been a verification if the cost that B.S.I. was saying is that what they’re charging is correct or if the charge was too high for that matter to help in coming to a better agreement between the parties – between the B.S.C.F.A. in particular and B.S.I. And then there was also the matter of ocean freight, bagging and those charges as well, because even though those are small, they’re smaller cost, and then there’s ocean freight. So those are the four main groups of charges. One is the port charges, which has been addressed, like I said by my report. Two, the manufacturing allowance, three, the bagging and local handling cost – getting the product from the factory to the port. And then fourth was the ocean freight. Those are the four charges that cause for us to have protests and discontent in the industry. And since those are costs that are deductible from the value of the sugar that is exported, it in the sense then determines how much remains to be shared between the farmers and B.S.I. when those deductions are made.”

BSCFA Calls for Urgent Meeting with PM Over Sugar Industry Concerns

The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) has issued a public call for dialogue with Prime Minister John Briceño and key government officials to address urgent concerns in the sugar industry.

In a press release, the BSCFA said that their concerns extend beyond personal grievances. The association expressed apprehension about the alignment of government policies with multinational interests, which they believe could have far-reaching implications at the parliamentary level.

The BSCFA stressed the importance of open national dialogue, ensuring that all voices—including farmers—are heard in discussions about the industry’s future.

To facilitate this discussion, the BSCFA has invited Prime Minister Briceño, Minister of Agriculture José Abelardo Mai, and Minister of State for Economic Development Osmond Martinez to a meeting. The proposed session, set for Friday, April 4, 2025, aims to address unresolved issues and chart a path forward for the sugar industry.

CSCPA Supports PM’s Decision to Oversee the Sugar Industry Portfolio

The Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association (CSCPA) has extended its congratulations to Prime Minister John Briceño and the People’s United Party (PUP) on their recent electoral victory. In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, the CSCPA expressed its commitment to collaborating with the government and other stakeholders to advance the sugar industry.

The CSCPA praised the Prime Minister’s decision to oversee the sugar industry portfolio. The association stressed the importance of investor confidence and strategic development to enhance economic gains for all involved.

Recognising the complexity of the sugar sector, the CSCPA called for a collaborative approach involving investors, millers, farmers, government ministries, and financial institutions. The association urged the government to revisit and adapt the strategic development plan introduced in previous years, focusing on improved milling efficiency and sustainable farming practices.

The sugar industry, previously overseen by Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai, is now under Prime Minister John Briceño’s leadership, with Dr. Osmond Martinez appointed as Minister of State for daily operations. While A.S.R./B.S.I. supports the change, the BSCFA opposes it, alleging the decision was influenced by an emergency meeting with ASR Group, which owns Belize’s only sugar mill. The association called the move ‘alarming,’ questioning its implications for Cabinet decisions.

BSCFA Wanted Sugar Industry Under Mai; B.S.I Welcomes the Change

Among the standout changes Prime Minister John Briceño made when he started his second term was taking charge of the sugar industry himself. Under the previous P.U.P. administration, this sector was managed by the Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai. Now, the PM has taken the reins and appointed Doctor Osmond Martinez as the Minister of State to handle the day-to-day operations. This move seems logical to some, given the recent challenges faced by the sugar industry. While A.S.R./B.S.I. views the PM’s decision positively, the BSCFA is not on board. They were so concerned that they sent a letter to the PM, expressing their dissatisfaction. The association claimed the decision was influenced by an emergency meeting with the ASR Group, a multinational corporation that owns the only sugar mill in northern Belize. They called the move ‘alarming,’ questioning how addressing ASR’s concerns could impact Cabinet portfolio assignments. Ironically, ASR Group officials have previously labeled any government support to farmers as political interference in the sugar industry. Today, we heard perspectives from both sides.

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

“It entails a lot of economics within the sugar industry, but it’s not only the economics of it. It also entails the daily living of the farmers and their families. So there are many things that it entails within not only the economic side, but also the social side of it, the livelihood of everyone involved in the sugar industry. So we are not against Martinez having that position. What we are looking for is that anyone that is placed in charge within the sugar industry looks forward to transforming the sugar industry into something much better than it is or it was. The recent interview that the prime minister had on Open Your Eyes, I believe where he said that he had to travel to Miami to speak with the A.S.R. group of people. That is where some of the situation arises because we don’t know what compromise he went to give there.”

Marion Ali

“Have you as an association reached out to the Prime Minister to ask him for a meeting to discuss what came out of that meeting that he spoke about then?

Alfredo Ortega

“ We haven’t sent him a letter before because we didn’t know there would be changes in regards to the portfolio of sugar industry until recently when he announced that, so it took us by surprise. But yes, we are working towards that because even though we send that letter to him, we are saying that we would have preferred Mr. Mai to continue as the Minister of sugar. Nevertheless, we have to respect that decision that he put and yes, we are looking forward to inviting him and Dr. Osmond Martinez to have a meeting with them and to see what is their plan.”

Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance, B.S.I.

“We see it very positive. It’s in a way a welcomed approach because for us, it highlights that at the highest level of government, they see the sugar industry as critical and for us, we take that positively that, you know, the Prime Minister is saying, look, we see as the government, the importance of the sugar industry and the need to try to improve. I think everybody in Belize knows that the industry is struggling. We are struggling because of climate change. We do have commercial issues that continue to bog down the industry, and so the Prime Minister is saying, well, look, we want to bring a lot more focus to this and try to see how we could try to move the industry forward. He has appointed a working group, which we are participating in that is being led by Dr. Marcelino Avila. And already that working group is coming up with some good ideas and suggestions, which we hope can be taken forward. So from that standpoint, we welcome it, and we look forward to working with the Prime Minister and Minister Martinez to see how we could try to move this industry forward.”

Milling Resumes at Tower Hill but Sugar Yields Remains Low

Earlier this month, the mill at Tower Hill finally resumed processing sugarcane after a two-week delay caused by relentless rains and mud-caked cane. Although the quality of the cane has improved somewhat, industry insiders are worried that there might not be enough time to match the output of previous years before the crop season ends in June. This shortfall could lead to significant revenue losses. News Five’s Marion Ali has the full story.

Marion Ali, Reporting

After a two-and-a-half-week break in milling operations at the Tower Hill factory, work finally resumed on March 4th, putting an end to a significant disruption in the sugarcane processing routine. The delay was largely due to bad weather. Now that milling is back on track, the quality of the cane being processed has improved a bit, according to B.S.I.’s Industrial Operations Manager, Stephen Usher. It’s almost back to what it was in recent years.

Stephen Usher, Industrial Operations Manager, B.S.I.

“We normally look for purities above 81. We were getting an average of the mid-seventies, which was low. The purity basically tells us how much sugar we can extract out of the cane, and also though, it basically is a guideline for extraction process. So, since the restart, we have seen improvements in cane quality purities. The mud percent cane coming in before that stop, we were averaging 10%. So, every ton of cane that we brought in, you know, 10% of that was mud. We are now back to normalcy where it’s three to 4%. To give you an example, we are normally closer to 48, 49,000 tons of cane for the week. Last week we did 46, 000 tons of cane.”

Alfredo Ortega, Chairman of the Committee of Management with the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, explained that the weather was just one of the factors slowing down the cane farmers’ production. Parasites were another major issue.

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

“One of the problems that we are facing right now that we’re seeing that has not improved the quality of the cane as we want it to be, is because of the pest infestation and the fusarium that was discovered last year in the month of October and November. Now that we are harvesting, we are seeing the problems that the fusarium has caused to many of those cane fields where the infestation has happened.”

Shawn Chavarria, B.S.I.’s Director of Finance, revealed that the mill has produced significantly less cane compared to the same period last crop. This shortfall is bound to lead to major revenue losses, as the industry will struggle to make up for the lost time.

Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance, B.S.I.

“If you compare how much we’ve milled the date of 386,000 metric tons, last year at the same time, we had already milled 501,000 metric tons. There’s still ground for us to make up, but as Stephen mentioned, we’re seeing much lower mod levels, which is good for milling, but the quality still has quite a bit of room to catch up and we don’t think it’ll catch up. If the weather allows, we think we can get in all the cane, but we have to wait and see. And that’s why right now it is really important for the whole farming community and the mill to work together along with the support of S.C.P.C. to make sure that we are maximizing keen deliveries while the weather is good because we don’t know what the situation will be like come June.”

While the potential losses are expected to be quite significant, there’s no estimate yet of the exact amount. Ortega pointed out that the two districts are facing different challenges, which play a big role in this situation.

Alfredo Ortega

“Our farmers are spread up between Orange Walk and Corozal and we are in different areas, so the situation and the problems are different in different areas that we are experiencing. So based on the deliveries of cane, that is how we are seeing all the percentage of loss is coming on board in regards to quality. in regards to yields, in regards to growth, we are seeing those effects now. So at this point in time, we’re unable to give a number on what is the projected loss for this crop.”

The sugar crop is expected to close in June. Marion Ali for News Five.

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.”

Sugar Industry Now Under the OPM

On Tuesday, during his appearance on Open Your Eyes, Prime Minister John Briceño announced that the sugar industry has been moved from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Office of the Prime Minister. The industry has been plagued by rising tensions between sugar producer associations and the A.S.R./B.S.I. sugar mill. In recent years, the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and BSI have struggled to agree on a long-term commercial agreement. In 2024, Minister of Agriculture Jose Mai launched a commission of inquiry to modernize the sugar industry. According to PM Briceño, the owners and managers of A.S.R., the parent company of the sugar mill, called an emergency meeting to discuss their concerns, which he attended. As a result, his office has taken control of the industry from Mai and his ministry.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“We have to continue working with the industries, agriculture for instance. I had to do an emergency trip to meet the owners and managers of ASR because they have some serious concerns with Belize and the way the sugar industry was being managed and the challenges they were facing. I think we managed to have something there. So now sugar is directly under me and I asked Dr. Martinez as the minister of State in Economic Development to look after it on a day to day basis.”

Agriculture Minister Discusses Halted Sugar Crop

On Wednesday night, we reported that Belize Sugar Industries (B.S.I.) is temporarily halting sugar production for the 2024-2025 season. B.S.I. explained that heavy rains have led to poor quality and low quantities of sugar cane, and bad road conditions have made the situation worse. Today, we heard from the Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai, during his appearance on Open Your Eyes.

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture

“The mill has closed because of insufficient cane reaching the mill. The fields are excessively wet. The quality of the cane is horrible. The mill will run out of excess bagasse. They burn baggase to produce energy. There is a cold front coming in that will bring some rainfall. If the mill closes because of this issue, or if sugar cane is not reaching the mill, the mill will be forced to closed down, because they are using up all the reserved baggase. They will be unable to restart the crop. That puts at risk the entire sugar crop for 2025. So, I read that thing on Facebook. It is wrong and political mischief. But I must say that we continue to fix sugar roads and because of the weather, the frequent rainfall pattern, it is destroyed. You fix it again, it is destroyed. So, the government is losing. The cane farmer because of the quality is losing. The TCS, the ton of cane to sugar is at sixteen tons. You are losing money.”

New Cane Quality Assessments to be Implemented by B.S.I.

Production at the Belize Sugar Industries has been paused due to persistent rainfall, which has led to muddy yields from farmers. But that’s not the only problem. The mill has also been dealing with a fusarium infection affecting northern cane crops and poor road conditions. B.S.I. says a new system is needed to prioritize cane quality over quantity. B.S.I. Communications Director, William Neal, shared more details on the issue.

William Neal, Communications Director, B.S.I.

”We’ve had projects of that nature before, we’ve had pre harvesting cane testing pre harvest cane testing and so the farmers are aware of that. We’ll definitely have to get back to our quality system where farmers are paid for quality and that will improve the way they manage their cane and also the way they harvest their cane because we definitely need to do it on a quality basis. As I said, you can’t tell if cane is ripe just by looking at it. So we’ll have to have a system that we’ve already demonstrated actually works. There will be a need for that to be put in place to be more beneficial to the farmers themselves. But we have these projects coming up that we’re implementing, like I said, the one for building the adaptive capacity of sugarcane farmers in Northern Belize, which is funded by GCF. And being managed by the Five C’s. So, those are some important things, but definitely we need an overhaul and a transformation of the delivery system to make sure that we’re bringing the best scheme possible to the mill.”

Muddy Fields and Bad Road Roads Halts Sugar Production

Today, Belize Sugar Industries (B.S.I.) announced it is temporarily halting sugar production for the 2024-2025 season. This decision comes from key industry players who are trying to tackle the poor quality and low quantity of sugar cane arriving at the mill, largely due to excessive rainfall in Belize. B.S.I. also pointed out that the terrible condition of the sugar roads has made it even harder to get the cane to the mill. William Neal, B.S.I.’s Communication Director, shared more insights into the situation.

William Neal, Communications Director, B.S.I.

“We’ve been having rains since October, and that has made it extremely difficult in terms of the field conditions for farmers. First of all, trying to harvest in these conditions. We’ve had reports, of course, from the feeder roads going to the fields. So the fields, the roads have been in very terrible condition and the fields have been in terrible conditions. This is not a good time to be harvesting because obviously the amount of mud and the difficulty that farmers have to extract their cane makes it extremely difficult. So you spend far more energy, in terms of physical energy and also gas, et cetera, to actually bring cane to the factory. Once they’re at the factory, we had to really deal with more than double the amount of mud that the factory can afford to process at this juncture. So it’s really not a good time to actually continue with the cane season, simply because the challenges at the farm level and at the factory level are just extraordinary. The cost in terms of what we’re spending to try and extract sugar from cane that has very poor quality at this juncture, simply because the rains have been so consistent makes it just not viable for us to continue with the cane crop at this juncture.”