Sugar Cane Season Opens Amidst Several Challenge  

This morning, Belize Sugar Industries and other stakeholders kicked off the 2024-2025 sugar cane season. Originally slated to start on December sixteenth, the season’s opening was delayed to the twenty-seventh due to poor road conditions. Although the season is just getting underway, stakeholders are already bracing for challenges. Tumultuous weather, rough road conditions, and the rapid spread of fusarium disease across northern Belize are expected to impact cane farmers and sugar producers. News Five’s Britney Gordon was at the opening ceremony to get the scoop on what next year holds for the sugar industry. Here’s her report.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

This morning marked the official start of the 2024/2025 crop season, kicking off Belize’s sugar production for the upcoming year. Despite the excitement, it’s a slow day at Belize Sugar Industries. 2024 was a landmark year for the local sugar industry, with record-breaking cane prices and the largest raw sugar export in the country’s history. However, stakeholders are cautious about 2025, uncertain if it will match the previous year’s success.

 

Vladimir Pook, Chairman, Corozal Sugar Cane Producers

“This symbolic opening is very important. Where it shows unity, the full association, we came here today and do what is best for our keen farmers, right? To the start of a crop.  It’s a very challenging crop coming ahead. Reasons, weather, roads, the fusarium, as you all know. And other pests that have been affecting the industry.  But I think that at this point in time, there is one major reason why today it looks a little bit sad, I can say. At the beginning of a crop where you don’t see as many trucks as we normally do, right? And that has contributed mostly to the roads. The pest that has done its damage, but now it’s time to deliver. We wanted to have an early start, but unfortunately the authorities did not prioritize on that.”

 

In late October, cane farmers were overjoyed as sugar cane prices soared to a record-breaking ninety dollars and ninety-five cents. It was a moment of celebration for the industry. However, Alfredo Ortega, Chairman of the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association Committee of Management, warns that tougher times are on the horizon for farmers next year.

 

 

 

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

“We are seeing the realities novel of climate change, as you rightly said. As we have said before, the problems we are seeing are many of them are caused by climate change. And yes, there’s a situation because as everything has, fuel is up, labor is up. So the farmers are really very tight in regards to what they make and in regards to the sugarcane they have. So it’s not an easy issue, it’s not very easy for the farmers to see when we are getting a huge amount on the sugarcane we produce. Nevertheless, last year we got ninety dollars per ton of cane which has been the highest in history. But when we see all the payments that we have to do in regards to fuels, in regards to social security, that has doubled from five years ago to now what we have to pay for labor from six to ten dollars now for cutting. So it’s a very huge amount that the farmers now have to pay to to get that cane coming here to the mill.” 

 

Despite the looming challenges, farmers remain resolute. Alfredo Ortega notes that many have already started planting seeds for the next crop season. Likewise, Belize Sugar Industries (B.S.I.) is preparing for the year ahead, ready to tackle whatever comes their way.

 

 

 

Shawn Chavarria, Financial Director, B.S.I.

“Symbolically,  it’s a good day in that we have an agreement with all our associations, which paves the way for the crop. That’s really the most important thing you need to have, a successful crop. If you have an agreement with all your associations for the cane, that makes, planning the crop much easier. I think we certainly know what are the challenges this year. We’ve heard from farmers and their leaders that sugar roads are in a bad state. And that’s making it difficult to get the cane in. So we’re expecting that today might be a very slow day in that respect. We know as well about the disease fusarium, which will result in lower-quality cane. So what we need to ensure from the mill standpoint is that the mill has been maintained properly so that we can deal with this cane. From our standpoint, we’ve done that. We put in about fourteen million Belize dollars just in out-for-crop replacement of maintenance equipment. And general maintenance to get the prop on the middle ready for today.”

 

So far, only a handful of trucks loaded with cane have made their way to the B.S.I. compound. However, BSI’s financial director, Shawn Chavarria, is optimistic that the operation will ramp up to full speed very soon.

 

 

 

Shawn Chavarria

“ We were currently doing some phone calls to the different leaders and groups to find out how much cane they have ready.  We’re still getting some numbers. We’re trying to at least get quantity of our own fifteen hundred assured before we start putting on our cane shredder and our cane knives because that really then requires a lot of power to start receiving the cane. So we need to be assured a certain quantity before we can get that. I would expect maybe by late this afternoon, we will probably have an indication of sufficient quantity. Then we will be able to make a start with the milling, but we’re hopeful that by tomorrow, we start seeing a steadier level of cane coming in and start getting into full force.”

 

The bleak outlook for sugar production is a major concern for B.S.I., which relies on fixed assets. Low output makes running the mill costly. While B.S.I. assures that the local sugar market won’t be hit hard, Cane Farmer Relations Manager Olivia Carballo-Avilez warns that international sales are expected to drop.

 

 

 

Olivia Carballo-Avilez, Cane Farmer Relations Manager

“We will be able to supply for the Belizean market. It’s only ten percent output. of the total production that’s for the Belizean market. And of course, if we are, if we don’t have the sugar production, we can’t sell those amounts. The local market has, we don’t have to worry about that, but yes, we will be selling less sugar if there is less sugar.”

 

Britney Gordon for News Five.

 

For more information visit:

https://edition.channel5belize.com/excitement-at-bsi-as-record-sugar-shipment-heads-to-london/

https://edition.channel5belize.com/state-of-emergency-in-sugar-industry-due-to-fungal-disease/

https://edition.channel5belize.com/b-s-i-announces-record-high-sugar-cane-prices/