Cane Farmers and ASR/BSI Meet

There is hope in the North that the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and the Belize Sugar Industries will settle their impasse by the end of November. A release from the Association noted that both parties met on Wednesday at the ASR/BSI Conference Room to present their proposals for amendments to the current commercial agreements. The release says  there were some notable proposals made by the association coming out of that discussion. One is a change to the income distribution formula, from sixty five percent to cane farmers and thirty percent to BSI of the Net Stripped Value, to a ratio of sixty percent and forty percent respectively from the Gross Proceeds. The Association also proposed a change in the method of payment of the cane price, from a payment of three installments to a payment of two installments, including a first payment of eighty percent. The Association further proposed payment of five dollars per ton of cane for bagasse, as well, that the term and duration of the commercial agreement be for a period of three years. On the other hand  BSI proposed that an extension of the term and duration of the commercial agreement for another seven years, the inclusion of a terminal handling charge, and the inclusion of a throughput fee. The release says the meeting was cordial and positive. Both parties are expected to submit rationales for their proposals by next week Wednesday.