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.”