Operations at the Tower Hill Cane factory in Orange Walk were shut down in a dispute between caneros from Corozal and Orange Walk. Yesterday morning, the Corozal farmers blocked the entrance to the factory because they claim the Orange Walk Farmers were delivering cane at a time when only Corozal farmers should have been allowed to do so.
The dispute arose from a break-down at Tower Hill which pushed back the time for Orange Walk deliveries. But the Corozal farmers say their Orange Walk counterparts were stealing time from them. It’s understandable as many of the Corozal farmers have to wait over 24 hours for their turn. But BSI was backed up with cane and could neither mill nor store all the cane.
The dispute was settled after about 6 hours when it was agreed that the 4,200 tonnes of cane that Tower Hill could accept would be shared equally between Orange Walk and Corozal branches. Operations resumed normalcy today.
