Turning back to the dispute that has caused this delay, last week, we showed you what the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association had to say about their Thursday meeting with the millers, BSI/ASR.
It was supposed to be one of the first few steps to bridge the gap on the impasse, where the millers would engage the leadership of that association on the main grounds of the commercial dispute. But, according to the BSCFA, the millers showed up to the meeting with no intention of engaging in a discussion about all of their counter-proposals.
Well, when we asked about that today, they say that the BSCFA's leadership was attempting to back them into a corner. Here's how they explained why:
Malcolm "Mac" McLachlan - VP, International Relations, ASR/BSI
"We're trying to meet their demands of greater transparency in the agreement, but it's becoming very clear to us that - in fact, it was stated to us quite clearly that what BSCFA wants is more money from the mill, and at a time when the mill's invested heavily in the value-added product, in a port facility in Big Creek that's going to reduce the cost of freight, the farmers will share that advantage. There's nothing to give, and that's why it's very difficult for us now to consider anything like an interim agreement because there would be absolutely no point. That would simply be pushing this whole issue down the track to ruin another crop."
Shawn Chavarria - Director of Finance, BSI/ASR
"I think the meeting did start off on a very positive note. It was very clear that BSCFA had misunderstood what we would have presented at that meeting, and in fact, the proposal was in line with their objective of removing a lot of these costs, which cause contention, and moving to gross value. But, what became very clear was that they had a pre-determined outcome, which was to get us to sign an interim, or else they would not start the crop."
Malcolm "Mac" McLachlan
"We have been told now by BSCFA what they're looking for, and it's just not something that we're in a position to provide. We've undertaken a tremendous amount of investment to shore up the sugar industry in Belize over the last 8 years. We have failed to make any return on that investment at all. We have long-term debt now of somewhere around 60 million US dollars, which is going to take a long time for us to pay off, and pay down. So, really - and the other point about all this is that the existing formula that farmers have in the value-share agreement is actually one of the most generous in the region. It provides not only a value for sugar, but also molasses, and we also pay for bagasse, which virtually nobody else does."
Later on in the news, we'll have a little more of the sugar industry debate, when you'll hear the extreme differences of opinion on payments for bagasse. Even after this matter rocked the sugar industry some 5 to 6 years ago, is still cause for a major disagreement between the millers and the BSCFA. You'll hear why.
