B.S.C.F.A. Demands August Extension Date to Interim Agreement

Oscar Alonso

In fact, A.S.R./B.S.I. has already issued an addendum to the existing commercial agreement, to B.S.C.F.A., that stipulates an extension of the current agreement to April thirtieth. B.S.C.F.A. confirmed having received that agreement. But, they are of the view that the April thirtieth deadline does more harm to the farmers than good. Here is what Oscar Alonso, C.E.O. at B.S.C.F.A. told us today.

Oscar Alonso, C.E.O., B.S.C.F.A.

“If for some reason we are not able to conclude the negotiation by April thirtieth, so we are saying if you are truly sincere in trying to negotiation in good faith, this good faith should translate into the fact that you are prepared to let the farmers deliver the cane in the next crop and let us put August first as the deadline for the agreement. That to us would signify good faith, because you are not trying to deny the farmers of their livelihood, of their income, and of losing the investments they have made last year to make this crop a good crop. Because, as the Chairman has said, the estimates in the field are fantastic. The mill will be producing quite a good amount of sugar. So, they think is, that good faith we can see, we have sent them a reply requesting that the date b changed to the first of August. We have copied that letter to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture because we are serious with this. We feel that April thirtieth does not resolve the issue, it complicates it even more, and it might even lead to a more volatile situation than we are experiencing right now, because you are in the middle of a crop when all of a sudden you will be told you cannot deliver cane.”