Sugar Impasse Over: B.S.C.F.A. and B.S.I. Sign Agreement
The sugar impasse is over. Late on Monday night, an agreement between Belize Sugar Industries Limited and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association was finally signed. This puts an end to several days of demonstration by members of the association and growing frustrations among cane farmers. The protracted impasse involved blockades along the road and tensions between cane farmers and the government. The agreement was initially anticipated to be signed early last Friday morning, but disagreements over the economic analysis proposal led to a stalemate. Eventually, an agreement was finalized and signed following a closed-door meeting in Yo Creek Village, Orange Walk. News Five’s Hipolito Novelo summarizes the events that led to the successful resolution.
Hipolito Novelo reporting
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“In the interest of the very important sugar industry, the government of Belize for several months decided to get involved to try to resolve the differences between the B.S.C.F.A. and B.S.I.”
At ten-twenty-five on Monday night, an agreement between Belize Sugar Industries Limited and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association was signed, signaling the end of a protracted impasse.
Hipolito Novelo
“Mr. Fred, are you tired?”
Alfredo Ortega
Alfredo Ortega, Vice Chairman, Committee of Management, B.S.C.F.A.
“Yes, I’m a bit tired. I am a human.”
And while some cane farmers grew tired, others became frustrated.
Member
Member, Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association
“They told us Thursday, Friday, Saturday Sunday. Today is Monday. And they have not signed anything yet. They are taking us like “poppy show”, like little boys. And what’s happening? People are getting vex already.”
During the nine days of intense negotiations, cane farmers expressed their frustration, not only with BSI, but also with the Briceño Administration. Last week, caneros temporarily prevented agriculture minister Jose Mai from leaving the SIRDI compound.
Hipolito Novelo
“Did you at any point felt unsafe?”
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“Absolutely not.” I’ve seen worse than that in the times of the UDP and the farmers know who has genuinely worked for them. Actually, they didn’t want me to leave because they want an answer now and then, and so I understand the frustration of the farmers.”
And the angry farmers were also sending a message to the members of the PUP northern caucus: no agreement, no votes.
Oscar Alonzo
Oscar Alonzo, C.E.O., B.S.C.F.A.
“The BSCFA doesn’t have to tell its members not to vote for the PM. The people are suffering and that very same suffering is the one that dictates their choice of vote. And if he cannot read that in the eyes, in the pain, in the suffering of the people in this northern part of the country then he is completely disconnected. He’s not part of this region, he’s like in another world.”
And in the world of the cañero, burning tires and blocking the road are means of getting their message across, which they believed was done last week when both parties finally agreed on four key points. But that was short-lived when both parties could not agree on the language of proposal three, which spoke to an economic analysis to be conducted by Hugh O’Brien of the Ministry of Agriculture to determine whether cane farmers should pay for terminal costs and throughput fees.
Alfredo Ortega
“The delay was what BSI have placed within the agreement, uh, the draft agreement that they sent on which they had, um, included in it how or, um, putting in it, um, ways on, on how, on guiding how Mr. Hugh will be doing the, the investigation on which that was not we agreed on Thursday. We said, or it was placed to us, put to us that Mr. Hugh will be doing a thorough investigation. To see if what BSI is seeing in regards to the charges of the throughput cost and the terminal cost are necessary for it to be done and know that they send the document, they send it with, um, with, um, portion in it on which they want to guide the process and want to put on how Mr. Hugh will be dealing with it. And that is not the case and that is why we rejected it.”
In a video posted by BSI, its Director of Finance, Shawn Chavarria, explained why the factory wants to charge the farmers these fees.
Shawn Chavarria
Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance, A.S.R/B.S.I
“In 2022, we moved our operations to be Creek, following an investment of 30 million to modernize that operations. We had done a trial. And it was determined that it would be more feasible, economical for us to move the operations there. We would see cost savings in ocean freight, and we would also see cost savings in port charges, of which they would be stevedoring and throughput fees. So those are the two main costs that we are now incurring. Now, what we had explained to all the associations, including the BSCFA, that despite there being a new charge called throughout fee, the combination of the stevedoring and the throughput fee would be less than what we were paying in Belize City. So we looked at the past five years, 2019, 2020, and 2021. So this was when we were still in Belize City. And so those years we incurred only stevedoring costs. And as you can see, the cost per ton went up those three years. And it peaked in 2021 at 32.30 per long ton. 2022 is when we made the transition to be creek. And you will see here, we had stevedoring and this new cost called throughput, but the combination of the throughput and stevedoring was 50 percent lower than the previous year we were paying in Port of Belize City.”
With the BSCFA threatening to return to back to the first step of negotiations, Prime Minister John Briceño decided that it would be best to have all parties in a room to finalize the negotiations. That meeting was held in Yo Creek Village and went late into the night with Briceño announcing that an agreement had been reached.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“As with any agreement, the devil was in the details. It was expected that an agreement would be signed early this morning, but late last night, the parties could not agree on the scope of the work that was to be conducted by Mr. O’Brien, and the parties reached a stalemate once again. After the deadlock could not be brokered by 2 p. m. today, I sanctioned both parties and their lawyers to sit in a room and not to leave until we have an agreement. Now we have an agreement. I’m happy to announce that the SAFRA, as we know the sugar cane season, can now commence normally with all sugar cane farmers associations delivering and the mail processing at optimum.”
So with that, the impasse is over—well, at least for the next two years, when another commercial agreement is expected to be signed. Reporting for News Five, I am Hipolito Novelo.
