At the top of the news, we showed you the start of the sugar crop season, which has been a difficult process for the stakeholders in the industry.
After an entire week of delay, which was chiefly caused by the impasse taking place between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, and the millers, ASR/BSI, the season started yesterday. It was supposed to be calmer waters for stakeholders, but the latest developments in this late-breaking story suggest that the controversy and conflict are about to continue.
As we told you, the BSCFA wants an extension of their business contract with the millers to last all the way up until August of next year. The Prime Minister proposed the end of April as the expiration date, which BSI/ASR has agreed to, but the association is remaining adamant.
We understand that members of the Agriculture Ministry attempted to negotiate today with the two sides to keep the Prime Minister's proposed truce alive. But late this evening, those talks ended without any new agreements reached. As a result, the BSCFA has refused to deliver their cane, and it appears that there is now the makings of a physical stand-off.
A bystander went live on Facebook and his footage captured when a number of BSCFA trucks were parked in a type of blockade. We understand that the millers also responded with a piece of heavy equipment that was parked in front of their entrance.
We'll keep following the story.
