Belize’s sugar roads are in terrible condition, according to cane farmers across Northern Belize who are struggling to make their deliveries. Today, the 2024-2025 crop season finally kicked off, sixteen days later than planned, mainly due to the poor state of the roads. Belize Sugar Industries’ Financial Director, Shawn Chavarria, shared that this has been a long-standing issue for the industry, making it difficult for farmers to get their cane to the sugar producers.
Shawn Chavarria
Shawn Chavarria, Financial Director, B.S.I.
“I think it’s really, a long term failure that has been occurring with respect to Sugar Roads. Infrastructure is critical for any sector, any industry, especially ours, which requires transportation of their raw material to the mill. And so without the proper infrastructure, it’s difficult for us to be able to make a good start. And we’ve seen that. We have proposed to start the crop on the sixteenth of December of December. Farmers, I said, look, I am willing to start, but I can’t get to my fields. And so that has set, that’s about two weeks. But the state of the roads is not one that just occurred this year, or the year before. It’s been successive years of inadequate maintenance and repairs to these sugar roads for a critical industry. It’s still one of the largest agricultural industries in Belize. It’s the highest contributor to GDP from the agricultural sector, bringing the highest level of foreign exchange. I think a long-term solution really needs to be put in place to address the matter of sugar roads because now it’s costing us money because it’s delaying the start. If we have to push the crop into the rainy season, it will cost the industry to lower cane quality and less recovery of sugar. So really, we need a long term solution for the matter of sugar roots so that, we remove one obstacle that we have.”
In January, Belize Sugar Industries and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association finally reached an agreement, ending their prolonged negotiations. Just a year ago, the dispute had escalated to public demonstrations and road blockades. This year, however, the sugar industry faces new challenges: climate change, inaccessible sugar roads, and fungal diseases affecting the crops. We spoke with several stakeholders today, who emphasized the strong commitment of both entities to work together and tackle these issues head-on.
Shawn Chavarria
Shawn Chavarria, Financial Director, B.S.I.
“Certainly a welcome treat for us to be able to, have a Christmas break where really you didn’t have to worry about trying to negotiate a commercial agreement and when we will start. So that’s certainly welcome compared to a year ago. And so having, put that aside, then the focus now is really in ensuring that we make the most out of this crop. We try to minimize our losses and maximize revenues as best as we can. And so that really requires a collaborative effort with all stakeholders to ensure that we achieve them.”
Alfredo Ortega
Alfredo Ortega, Chairman, Committee of Management, B.S.C.F.A.
“As you know last year we signed a two year extension addendum of the agreement. So this year we don’t have anything to sign. We are already in peace for this year, as you rightly said. So we have to continue on when time comes that we need to negotiate. Then we will start negotiating again with the men. So at this point in time, everything is okay between us. We have signed for at least this coming year again. So we need to work in peace because at the very end, what we want to see is our farmers really get the benefit of their labor.”
In late August, Belize kicked off the first hearings for the Commission of Inquiry into the sugar industry. This inquiry aims to scrutinize the entire value chain of the industry and offer recommendations to the government. Belize Sugar Industries Limited (B.S.I.) was among the organizations under examination. B.S.I.’s Financial Director, Shawn Chavarria, shared an update on these recommendations.
Shawn Chavarria, Financial Director, B.S.I.
“We actually heard from the Commission of Inquiry roughly two weeks ago. They had shared a summary of their recommendation. But we haven’t seen the full report and we are requesting the full report because really it’s difficult for us to opine on what the summary of the findings and recommendations are without seeing the rationale for it. So we requested the full report. The commission did ask us not to meet that public as yet because they want to ensure the proper communication is done with all the stakeholders first and get their feedback. But from our standpoint, it was a bit challenging for us to give you back without seeing the full report. And so we requested that. We’re hopeful that we can get that sometime soon.”
It’s an exciting week for the team at Belize Sugar Industries. At Big Creek Port in Stann Creek District, the Federal Tiber vessel is being loaded with over thirty-nine thousand tons of raw sugar. So, where’s it heading? This massive shipment is bound for London, England. The Supply Chain Manager says that if the weather cooperates, the ship is set to sail next week.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
It’s an exciting week for the team at Belize Sugar Industries. At Big Creek Port in Stann Creek District, the Federal Tiber vessel is being loaded with over thirty-nine thousand tons of raw sugar. So, where’s it heading? This massive shipment is bound for London, England. The Supply Chain Manager says that if the weather cooperates, the ship is set to sail next week.
Eldy Smith
Eldy Smith, Supply Chain Manager, ASR/BSI
“Today is a memorable moment for us. It’s one of the largest vessels that has docked in Belize. We’re loading thirty-nine thousand five hundred metric tons. We are expecting that The finished loading is within six days. We have some delays and this is mainly because of the rain. But our loading rates are normally between five thousand to seven thousand metric tons an hour, right? Right now we are currently meeting the five thousand. And we are hoping that we can get better with the weekend that we have better sunny skies.”
Typically, loading a shipment of this size would take over forty days. BSI’s Communications Director, Williams Neal, explains that if a vessel stays docked longer than the agreed loading and unloading time, a demurrage fee is charged for each extra day. By boosting efficiency, the company saves valuable time and money.
William Neal
William Neal, Communications Director, B.S.I.
“ It’s really not only historic for BSI, but for the country. Because it shows that if we have the right port facilities, we can do much more. And in a world where competitiveness is important when you’re talking about businesses. You have to make sure that you’re able to respond to your needs of your clients as they arrive. So while we’re moving on a regular basis, the raw sugar down here, we have to make sure that we’re able to compete with other larger producers globally. So the infrastructure here at the port that we 30 million dollars Uh, proves that this was long overdue, and perhaps it’s something that we need to do more in terms of port and infrastructure development.”
Over the past two years, BSI has been phasing out the tug and barge system for transporting sugar. The main reasons? High maintenance costs and the difficulty of insuring the barges.
William Neal
“It made a lot of dollars and cents to actually move to this facility because the savings drove that entire process. It’s not easy when you’re a business and you’re doing massive transformation to continue spending money because the impression then is that you have a lot of money. But if you do nothing, you’re going to die. So you have to make the investment. You know, some people say scared money doesn’t make money in business. You have to be bold and you have to be ahead of the curve.”
This shipment showcases Belize’s growing capacity for trade. Dr. Osmond Martinez, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, sees it as a positive signal to the international market.
Osmond Martinez
Dr. Osmond Martinez, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Trade
“Whenever we analyze the efficiencies and the effectiveness in terms of the supply chain and to be able to compete in the local, in the global market in this case to supply sugar is very important because the more we are able to export, that means that more competitive we are in terms of price. And today, when you look at the global inflation. Global inflation which is affecting all consumers in the world being competitive in terms of price is very important.”
The total value of the export is forty-five million dollars which Martinez anticipates will directly impact Belize’s economy by reducing the country’s trade deficit.
Dr. Osmond Martinez
“But it is also important to note that its contribution has a multiplier effect. And it is our hope that its contribution will not just be a one-time impact, but that it will have an a wider impact. In terms of hope the money is circulating within Belize’s economy.”
Belize Sugar Industries is gearing up to ship the largest quantity of raw sugar in the country’s history, reflecting a successful cane season. However, the latter half of the season faced setbacks due to changing weather conditions and the fusarium disease, which devastated many Northern crops. We spoke with B.S.I. Communications Director, William Neal, about when the next crop season will start and how optimistic the company is for the future.
William Neal
William Neal, Communications Director, B.S.I/A.S.R.
“We’ve had discussions with stakeholders and it was decided that the start of crop work and that would be the twenty-seventh of December B. S. I. Had actually proposed that we start on the sixteenth of December. We know that we have a lot of challenges with rain and climate change in general, but we thought because of the sarium disease as well that we should start as early as possible, however, and it was agreed that we would start on the twenty-seventh of December, and I think that Should be that’s it. That’s it by now, and we should proceed with that. We don’t foresee any challenges in that regard. But of course, the farmers and the farmer associations asked for that because there were concerns about the rains, the condition of fields, but also the condition of roads. Anybody who drives on the roads in Belize know that we are having significant challenges with roads that are in horrible conditions.”
Last month, the Ministry of Agriculture declared a state of emergency in the sugar industry because a fungal disease has infected up to forty thousand acres of sugar cane. This disease causes the cane to yellow and wilt, making them unfit for sugar production. With the new crop season starting in just a week, we asked Belize Sugar Industries Communications Director, William Neal, for an update on the search for a cure. Here’s what he had to say.
William Neal
William Neal, Communications Director, B.S.I/A.S.R.
“This is new, so there’s a lot of research still ongoing, but we know some things. One, Corozal. Has been more impacted than Orange Walk. We also know that Fusarium is not new. It was triggered perhaps by the climate change challenges. The extended droughts, the excessive rains. It just created the perfect conditions for it to grow. I don’t think they have identified exactly what species it is. So there’s some best practices that they’re testing, but I don’t think enough time has passed to say how effective those are. Of course you have to do everything that you can to make sure that you have the maximum input and in some cases the estimate is that production could fall as much as thirty percent, that’s significant. That’s one third of your production. So it’s something that we definitely have to, as an industry, focus on and try to mitigate the impact of it.”
The Government of Belize reports a significant decrease in sugar smuggling over the past few months. Earlier this year, many Belizeans will remember stores limiting the amount of sugar one person could buy, sparking fears of a sugar shortage. However, Belize Sugar Industries quickly debunked this, clarifying that the country had plenty of sugar and that the limits were to curb smuggling. Today, we spoke with Doctor Osmond Martinez, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, for an update on the situation. Here’s what he had -to say.
Osmond Martinez
Dr. Osmond Martinez, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Trade
“The government have taken the proper measurements to minimize and eliminate that problem I think that question can be addressed more to Minister Abelardo Mai. He will be able to get into details. We acknowledge that there were some issues in the past and that’s a problem we the government, you know, Belize has been able to mitigate and almost eliminate that problem. But in terms of details, all the measurements that are being put in place, the minister of agriculture will be in a better position to explain the details on the measurements that governments are putting in place.”
Earlier today, Corozal Town hosted a brief but exciting ceremony to kick off an agricultural drone pilotage course. A drone expert has been brought in to lead the training, where participants will learn both the theory and hands-on skills needed to fly drones for agricultural purposes. This innovative initiative is spearheaded by the Ministry of Investment.
Jose Antonio Texocotitla
Jose Antonio Texocotitla, Course Trainer
“This drone handling course is going to be four and a half days long. It’s going to be sixty percent theory, forty percent practice and we aim to give the basis of the agricultural and drone piloting needs that every participant should have before being able to recognize that the most common troubles in agriculture and also be able to bring an optimal solution. We are going to start with a drone overview, their components, the handling, the assembling and disassembly of the most common parts. Of course, we are also going to have some words from the Ministry of Civil Aviation so they can know the regulations. We will also have some words with the participants, they are aware of the regulations of Belize and we are going to give the pest control assignment. We are going to show the methodology in the classroom and in the field. We are also going to implement a flying simulator so the student can learn in a controlled environment and flying tests so he can get more comfortable with flying without the risk or fear of having an accident having an accident.”
Assessments are still ongoing to determine the extent of damage Tropical Storm Sara’s recent flooding has caused to the agricultural sector. Prime Minister John Briceño has already hinted that the numbers will be staggering. Meanwhile, reports are coming in that some products are being smuggled into the country and sold on the local market. In San Pedro, for instance, there’s been an influx of contraband watermelon, likely due to the impact on local supplies. Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai was asked about this issue.
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“That is one of the problem we have when we have very porous borders. If you have a problem with your production, with your supply then there will be illegal importation. But, San Pedro has always been a problem for us in contraband. Always. That does not surprise me that they have contraband in the market. But again, whenever you have bad weather and you lose you crop, your sweet peppers, your tomatoes, I mean they will try to find a way to import. Our officers go out in the field and ensure that there is no carrots, cabbage, tomato and then they will import. You will find that you give a small license to import cabbage and then a farmer in Valley of Peace have cabbage and then the railing up begins, who never report this. So, it is a constant challenge for us and sometimes farmers don’t report, and sometimes our officers slip up, but if there is no product somebody have to supply it. That is the challenge we have at this time.”
One solution the Ministry of Agriculture is considering to tackle the rise in screwworm cases is setting up a slaughterhouse in Belize. Minister Mai believes that exporting live animals isn’t the best approach. Instead, he thinks Belize could benefit much more from exporting premium cuts of meat.
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“We have to look at what are the options on our table. As I explained today, this could be an opportunity. We can convert this challenge into an opportunity. Exporting cattle is not the best thing to do. Exporting a raw product is not the best thing to do. We export cacao beans and we import chocolate. We export corn and import corn chips. We export raw sugar and import Tate and Lyle refined sugar. That is nonsense. We export beef and some people in Belize wants to import cuts from American sources. So this challenge can be converted into an opportunity. It is time for us to look seriously at a slaughtering facility, certified that we can export to these other slaughtering facilities, our cuts, maybe whole cuts, shoulders, the quarters, we can begin with that. The argument is we don’t have enough volume to sustain it. Well, lets partner with the same company. Carne has a slaughtering facility in Nicaragua. As a matter of fact, we have a meeting today at one thirty, it is almost one-thirty now, with a company that wants to speak with us about that.”
