Photo: Hon. Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture
Thursday of this week was the last day of mediation in the negotiations between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) and the Belize Sugar Industries Limited. Agriculture Minister Abelardo Mai says the sector is “at a crossroads.”
by Marco Lopez
BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 15, 2022
The last of three mediation sessions being carried out in an effort to broker an agreement between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) and the Belize Sugar Industries Limited (BSI/ASR) took place today. It is a critical juncture, with the sugar crop scheduled to start on December 19—next Monday, and with every moment of delay in the resolution of the impasse between the two entities threatening to cause lost days in the harvesting and milling of the crop, and lost revenues for the millers, the farmers and the country. The stakes today were very high as the representatives of BSI and the BSCFA sat at the table with counsel Julie-Ann Ellis Bradley, the mediator selected by both parties. In an interview today, Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Jose Abelardo Mai, said that BSI has indicated its preparedness to begin milling on Monday.
No milling start date has been set by the Sugar Industry Control Board (S.I.C.B.), as the law requires before the start of any crop, but according to Minister Mai, that old board reached the end of its term just one day ago, and he has appointed a new board which will set the date for the commencement of delivery and grinding of sugarcane—a date that could be as early as tomorrow, December 16.
“The sugar board term expired one day ago. This morning I have appointed a new board. That board is scheduled to meet tomorrow evening, and that date will be set, by law. It is the sugar board that sets the date for the commencement of the crop,” Minister Mai said in an interview today.
A letter was released by the chairman of the S.I.C.B., Marco Osorio, earlier today, reiterating what was pointed out by Minister Mai in his interview: that section 6(1)(e) of the Sugar Industries Act 2020 states that the function of the board includes, “Fixing in respect of each year, after consultations with the manufacturers and association, the period or period known as the grinding season during which manufacturers shall accept deliverers of sugar cane from growers and cane farmers.”
There is no indication, however, if Osorio has been reappointed as chairman of the S.I.C.B. following the end of the board’s term.
Minister Mai said that while BSI indicated its desire to start on the 19th of December, whether such milling will indeed start hinges on the outcome of the last mediation session ongoing today, and it is hoped that the parties will arrive at a fair and equitable consensus.
As previously reported, the two entities must agree on the terms of a new commercial agreement, and the sugarcane farmers have been demanding an adjustment in the revenue-sharing formula, with revenue being allotted to them before cost deductions. BSI has insisted that such an alteration would involve a transfer of several million dollars from the millers. It is a move that they believe would amount to subsidization of the farmers and could result, they say, in bankruptcy of the mill.
The mediation sessions have been kept in camera until the mediation process is complete, so Minister Mai says he himself is not aware of all that has transpired during the sessions, but after today’s session, the details of the mediation will be made public, and an announcement will be made about the outcome, and what that will mean for the sugar industry and this year’s sugar crop.
Following whatever decision is finalized between the parties, the BSCFA, the largest cane farmer association in the country, which produces more than 40% of the cane that is processed by the mill, will have to go back to its membership for a final vote on the matter. The worst-case scenario, Minister Mai said, would be a return to the state of affairs prior to the mediation.
“Which in my view is not good for the farmers. I think that they should have earned some ground, but I don’t know that is the case yet. But again, I’m still optimistic about it,” Minister Mai said.
He said that he has been hoping and praying that the impasse does not result in what took place last year—a delay of several days in the start of the sugar harvest, with a blockade being put in place by farmers in front of the Tower Hill factory. That standoff had resulted in decreased revenue for both the mill and the farmers. Mai noted that the losses incurred by the company are minor compared to the collective losses of cane farmers. (The price of sugar cane on the world market this year is notably high, so the losses would in fact be more pronounced.)
“How much cane stayed out there, 124,000 tons, so the mischief has to stop. Look at the hard figures, right. So they are taking you to court because you lose millions of dollars because of three days blockade? I mean, come on, come on, three days. The mill was operating at half capacity at the time because they did not have a turbine,” said Minister Mai, and he went on to claim that again this year, the mill is not fully functional, with a turbine just entering the country. He claimed this will take 10 days to install, thus the reason for BSI’s announcement that it will be ready to start milling on December 19, he said.
“A turbine just came into the country from Mexico. It came in two days ago. They are installing it today and expect that to be up and running within 10 days. It takes 10 days for them, more or less, to install that turbine, so if they begin on the 19th, they would begin with that turbine. It will take until the 22nd, 23rd, 24th to get the turbine working,” Minister Mai said, and he pointed out that the mill will not be operating during the Christmas holiday, giving BSI more time to fix any possible malfunction of its equipment.
“So, I understand the importance for them to select the 19th, for the 19th crank up, half crank up. You got problems, you close down 24th, 25th, 26th, and work on it, and that’s why the 19th is important for them …” Minister Mai said of the BSI/ASR.
He estimated, based on data that indicates that an average of three thousand tons of cane is milled daily, that the losses that resulted over the three or four days of the blockade totaled between 9 and 12 thousand tons of cane. However, 124,000 tons of sugar cane were left in the field this year, Mai pointed out.
BSI/ASR has, however, largely blamed last year’s blockade for the losses incurred by the company and the cane farmers.
“How can you blame blockade? Let’s be real,” Minister Mai remarked.