Caribbean sugar producers meet to chart future

It has been the mainstay of Belize’s economy for decades but there are signs that King Sugar may soon be losing its royalty. With low world prices and an eight-year time limit before preferential subsidies are removed, officials of six countries forming the Sugar Association of the Caribbean met today at the Radisson to formulate a plan for the future.

Chandra Bobart, Trinidad and Tobago

“The topics we discussed here, where they is a commonality of interest and there are common problems, we each can learn from each other, benefit from each other’s mistakes and successes and so on. And by pooling our experiences together, we will be able to make a useful contribution to make a one: a national plan for each sugar industry territory and two: to formulate a CARICOM policy on sugar.”

Conrad Kelly

“Individual countries have quotas, however, we work together as a coordinated group to ensure that the production, if it is short in one country it can be met by over production in another country.”

Eduardo Zetina, Belize Sugar Industry

“All our sugar industries in the Caribbean are facing a time now when we have to ensure that we develop our resources to the best of our ability. Improve productivity, improve efficiency and I think the words of the Chairman Mr. Bobart is very timely, because all of us need to develop a national policy on sugar to make sure that we develop that efficiency and productivity. Specifically referring to Belize, we have taken some steps to try to improve our sugar industry and to make it more competitive. One of which is the development of a co-generation project for example, which will diversify the sugar industry”

The Association’s Technical Committee meets twice each year, the venue rotating between Belize, Guyana, St. Kitts, Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad.