Tonight, the impasse in the Sugar Industry continues as the Sugar Industry Control Board has not published the start and end dates for the crop delivery season.
And the reason is that the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association cannot reach an agreement with the owners of BSI/ASR.
Once again, the millers and the Association, which represents 61.7% of the entire cane farming population in the north, are in a commercial disagreement, and the Government must encourage them to go back to the negotiating table. So, when the press caught up with the Prime Minister at an event today, we asked him what his government is going to do about it:
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"We will be getting this afternoon a briefing from the Minister of Agriculture. We are monitoring this very closely. I continue to maintain my position that A.S.R./B.S.I. is an integral part of the industry. They are our partners and we need to find a way how we can work with them. That said, also our farmers are our partners and we need to ensure that there is fair play that there is a sense of fairness. Now I am not accusing the farmers or B.S.I. of not being fair. But if we have by far the largest association, they have over seven hundred thousand tons of cane to delivery out of one million three hundred tons and they are saying we want to renegotiate what we have, then I think they do have a right. B.S.I. is saying you only have until the end of January when the commercial agreement comes to an end. As a government, we cannot stand by and then allow for chaos to take over in the industry. And so we believe that we have to come in as honest brokers to be able to ensure that we can have the two parties sit around the table and negotiate an agreement that is beneficial to both sides. We don't feel that the farmers should get everything that they want, but likewise the same thing with B.S.I."
"The farmers are questioning that 25% of the total revenues are being charged before they could set up what they called the value which is then, that is divided between the farmers and BSI, 65-35. They do have a right to question that 25% how they come to that charge and so we need to take it from there."
Reporter
"The matter is really crucial, I think. Do you expect that the government is going to face a legal challenge from BSI? They've already said we all sat around that table consulted and agreed on a date, now the government is as the government taking a step to prevent the start which was agreed upon."
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"That is not true, it's not the government. It's the BSCFA. It's not arm of the government, but that aside, I think they say they are going to be opening up the crop shortly the next few days, so I think that point is mute."
Our newsroom understands that the SICB has called for an urgent meeting tomorrow to discuss the impasse. We'll keep following this story as it continues to develop late into the Christmas Season.
