In our last segment we showed you how the sugar cane industry is diversifying the varieties of cane in the fields.
But, they are also diversifying their product offerings - to include attractive bags of refined sugar with zip locks. Previously, these were found in stores all across the Caribbean except for Belize. But now you'll have a chance to get your hands on them, because BSI ASR will now be selling them locally to supermarkets. So what does this mean for the old school tie bags on shelves?
BSI's Director of Finance Shawn Chavarria explained. Jomarie Lanza has this story.
Last year January when we first took a tour of BSI ASR's warehouse that was stacked and packed to the ceiling with retailed packaged brown and white sugar produced in Belize, we learned that GOB would not give them the green light to sell their product in Belize, despite the in sugar shortage in the country at the time. BSI/ASR had lobbied for an increase in the controlled price of sugar for their packaged product to be made available on the domestic market. And well they got it! As of yesterday they commenced their first sales.
Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance BSI
"As many of you know how we have traditionally sold sugar here in Belize is we sell it in industrial sized packaging usually 50 or 100 pound bags and from there it is then distributed to supermarkets and retailers who would then pre packaged it normally in just clear plastic bags they would use a sharpie pen and put the pound and the price on that but we feel that we should really be selling a much higher quality product that meets high quality food standards but the law had to be amended to allow us the opportunity to do that and so that law changed as you heard earlier this month and because of that we are now able to sell this product which is packaged brown sugar, and retail packaged white sugar for the domestic market we have actually been producing packaged sugar for a couple years now. We made the investment some years ago and I believe it was 2 years ago that we had invited the media to come and see it and w have been trying to get this same product into the domestic market."
Chavarria says that Belizeans now have a choice between a prepackaged premium product that meets world food and safety quality or tie bags. But whatever you may choose, a controlled price for non packaged sugar still remains.
Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance BSI
"The maximum that it can sell for is, I believe 86 cents per pound in the Orange Walk and Belize districts for brown sugar and 96 cents in the Orange Walk and Belize districts for plantation white. I believe what the government has done is it has allowed an additional cost for transportation to districts that are in the west and the south of the country. I mean that makes sense given that there is a higher transportation cost associated with that so I think the maximum controlled prices in those districts will be slightly higher. In terms of the retail packaged sugar that is no longer under price control from our end we are more or less selling the sugar at a about 15 cents more per pound at the mill but what the landed price ends up being at the supermarket will depend on what the distributor and the retailers charge for that, but from our standpoint the range we are looking at is around 15 cents more than we are selling it at the mill."
And as mentioned in their previous tour, the packaging will make it difficult to smuggle and sell, reducing challenges they experienced in the past. But regardless of whether consumers choose to purchase this premium product, Chavarria says it's the supermarkets and retail stores that will decide what they want to put and keep on their shelves.
Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance BSI
"If it is that supermarkets or even the consumers say look I don't want to pay a little bit more for this retailed packaged sugar that will still be available to them if it that the supermarkets say look I really don't want to be selling this type of sugar in my shop I don't want to hire people to bag it I don't want to be worrying about quality control then it's up to the supermarket to say I really prefer just selling this premium product and I don't want to be selling these tie bags anymore. So the market we see will develop and dictate what we end up doing but for sure we will be in a position to respond whatever direction it goes."
The bags will be available in 1kg, 2kg and 5kg. and 65% of those revenues will go back to the farmers.
