And while these two business partners have found a way to continue conducting business with each other, 2 of the other sugar industry stakeholders sent out a press release today to make clear that they weren't going to suffer any financial losses similar to what they experienced because of last year's late start.
In their joint press release, the Progressive Sugar Cane Producers Association and the Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association say that they have entered into individual binding Commercial Agreements with the ASR/BSI millers.
Their statement continues to go on, quote, "all our farmers have been ready since the 19th of December 2022, as the agreed date...Both Associations have duly performed, yet the BSI/ASR's gates remain shut, preventing us from effecting the delivery of our crops.
They add, quote, "Last year, the membership or Progressive Sugar Cane Producers Association together with the Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association jointly lost in the millions due to an almost identical situation where on that occasion the delay lasted 14 days.
Our Associations in no way contributed to those losses in 2021 or what is transpiring now...
We also call on the Government of Belize to act as honest brokers to correct this horrible injustice as we are being held hostage to negotiations not initiated by us nor in which we participated and which do not directly relate to our independent Commercial Agreements. Our legal right to our livelihood is being deprived- we believe unconstitutionally." End quote.
They then close that if this matter is not resolved, they will explore all legal options available to enforce their contractual and constitutional rights and recover compensation.
