And one of the measures the Ministry of Agriculture is proposing is increasing sugar prices. According to Minister Jose Mai, the fact remains that Belize's retail sugar prices are the lowest in the region. Of course ASR/BSI has been begging for an increase for years. However, he explained that it won't just be one flat price increase - rather, it has to be structured based on certain circumstances, such as distance. Here's how he put it.
Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture
"We have been discussing it for some time, we've been getting some pushback but I think it is just fair that the farmers get a fair price for their sugar. Now, we are working on a paper right now, we had submitted one to Cabinet, I didn't get approval for it. But we are revisiting it seeing that it's necessary for the farmer to get an extra increase in the sugar price. But what's important the benefit of an increased price is justified and it is equitable, it has to be structured. I'm just thinking aloud that the industrial people will have special prices because they use large quantities, the bread makers for example, I think it has to be zoned whereby Orange Walk would be the cheapest because of transportation, but you can't expect Toledo to be the same price as Orange Walk when you have transportation costs. So it's a structured price that we're looking at. We haven't finalized it, both Ministries are looking at it, Ministry of Economic Transformation and my ministry."
"Per capita consumption of sugar, as I explained last Cabinet is very little. It won't impoverish anybody if you increase the price to what we have been thinking and secondly we must discourage the use of too much sugar, it is unhealthy so all of these things I think need to be taken into consideration. But we have to be fair to the producer, we have to be fair to the industry, for many years the price has remained so low to consumers. The Guatemalans rush for it, the Mexicans rush for it so it's time for us to think about supporting the farmers seriously in giving them an increase."
