_{Hon. John Briceño – Prime Minister of Belize}

ORANGE WALK, Thurs. Apr. 3, 2025

When we last reported on the sugar industry, we had left off with the letter that the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) had written to the Prime Minister on March 25th expressing concerns regarding the change of Minister Jose Mai as minister responsible for the industry. The Prime Minister has put in his place economist, Dr. Osmond Martinez, Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, responsible for Economic Development.

Responding to the BSCFA’s letter on March 27, the Prime Minister started out saying to CTV3 that he would be kind, but then went in a different direction when he stated, “First of all, they are not the Prime Minister. If Fred Ortega or anyone of them wants to be prime minister, put their name on a ballot, and someday they can be the prime minister and make the decisions.” He then explained that in choosing the Cabinet assignments, he considers different angles to put together the best team. He added that he has his reasons for bringing the industry under his responsibility at a time when the industry is in crisis and requires the highest priority. He remarked that if the BSCFA can’t realize that the industry is in crisis, then they are the problem because “they, too, are in crisis.” The PM also revealed that he found the letter to be insulting.

_{Alfredo Ortega – Chairman, Committee of Management, BSCFA}

Speaking to Amandala on Wednesday evening after an all-day meeting of the Board to discuss the way forward, Alfredo Ortega, Chairman of the BSCFA’s Committee of Management, shared that he was not offended by the Prime Minister’s comments. He reiterated that the letter to the PM was not personal; rather, it was based on the queries of their members who want to know what is the plan to move the industry forward, based on the Cabinet changes, and now that they have received the 205-page Commission of Inquiry (COI) report dated February 3, 2025.

In a press release issued on Saturday, March 29, the BSCFA’s Committee of Management wrote that it respects the position of the Prime Minister “and the immense responsibilities he carries.” At the same time, the Association outlined that, “It’s crucial for all voices, regardless of status, to contribute to the national dialogue, especially when it concerns the well-being of the people we serve…Open dialogue and understanding, rather than dismissal, will ensure that we all move forward together for the betterment of our farmers, industry and country.” In the release, the BSCFA invited the Prime Minister; Minister of Agriculture, Jose Mai; and Dr. Osmond Martinez for a meeting, and they suggested it be held on Friday, April 4. Today, Ortega told Amandala that Dr. Martinez called their office to indicate that a meeting will be organized for sometime next week.

Ortega says that at Wednesday’s Board meeting, they agreed they will write the miller, Belize Sugar Industries/American Sugar Refining, asking for a meeting to begin negotiations for a new commercial agreement, given that there has been no new agreement since the 2015 seven-year agreement expired in 2021. According to Ortega, having only recently received the COI report, they will now go through the document to see if their recommendations match, or not, what they were asking for, and go forward from there. Ortega says they are only asking of the Prime Minister that he ensures there is equal benefit for everyone in the industry, so that the cane farmers receive a fair cane price and the miller can also earn its profits.

_{Sugar Industry Commision of Inquiry report}

In the executive summary, the commissioners indicate that their findings are crucial to resolving the ongoing revenue sharing dispute between the miller and the BSCFA.

Explaining the comment of the Prime Minister that the BSCFA itself is in crisis because it “refuses to sign the Fairtrade agreement,” Ortega told us that the matter is in court. The BSCFA in December 2024 brought a private law claim against BSI as the first Defendant and Tate and Lyle Sugars Limited as the second Defendant. According to the claim form, BSI did not report to Tate & Lyle the volume of Fairtrade eligible sugar that the BSCFA members sold to BSI for crop years 2021/2022 and 2022/2023. As such, BSCFA was not paid Fairtrade Premiums for those sugar crop years. The reason for the non-reporting is the lack of a long term commercial agreement between BSI and BSCFA.

Northern sugar crop resumes after 12-day pause

The 2024/2025 northern sugar crop season resumed on March 4 after a 12-day pause that began on February 19 and was occasioned by a confluence of challenges, including the negative effects of climate change, pest infestation, Fusarium and the bad condition of sugar roads due to rainy weather. Marcos Osorio, the Chairman of the Sugar Industry Control Board (SICB) on March 25 indicated that there was some improvement in sugar cane quality, but said they still had concerns about purity. Osorio also shared that they do not expect major improvement from now until the end of the crop in 6 to 8 weeks’ time. He is hopeful, though, that rain will remain at bay.

While the mill is operating at a higher rate than when the crop was forced to stop, Osorio says field production is not keeping pace. At the time of his interview, he said deliveries were averaging 6,500 tons of cane per day, while the miller is able to receive 7,000 tons. Among the contributing factors is labour, which Osorio says is not enough. Ortega further explained that the scorching heat does impact the productivity of the cane cutters. Meanwhile, when it comes to the turnaround of transport units, Osorio says it is not as efficient as they would want it to be.

Tough sugar season to dent farmers’ earnings

Based on the crisis situation in the sugar industry due to all the challenges it faced this season, Ortega says the impacts on their returns will be great. He remarked by way of explanation, “As you know, the price right now has not reached the price it was last year at this time. I think last year we were in the vicinity of $60.61. Right now we are at $54.31, if I’m not mistaken.” Ortega is still hopeful that the cane quality can improve in the remainder of the season.