Ministry of Agriculture Takes Steps to Prevent Sugar Shortage

The recent shortage of sugar that the country faced prior to the Christmas holidays should not be a recurrent problem, not if an arrangement between the Ministry of Agriculture, A.S.R./B.S.I. and Santander is properly set in place. Recently, Santander issued a release in which it stated that Belize should never be in a position of having to import refined white sugar, which costs much more than the white sugar produced locally. Santander stated that the government had reached out informally to ask about the availability of white sugar. The sugar company pointed out, however, that it does not hold a permit to sell white sugar on the market, but that it stands ready to do so in the future. Today, it was the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security that issued a press release, saying that it had indeed reached out to Santander from as early as September when it foresaw the imminent shortage, but that Santander responded that they had none in stock. Hence, the government went ahead to import, for a short-term, refined white sugar for the Christmas season. Those stocks are expected to be depleted by the end of next week, according to the ministry’s release. It went on to state that with the A.S.R./B.S.I. mill now in full swing, we should have locally-produced sugar on the shelves in February at their normal prices. The ministry’s press release also reiterated the minister’s comments on Thursday: that the Santander Sugar Group’s operations are governed by the Designated Processing Area Act, which limits the sale of their production to export markets. Therefore, local market access would need to be provided for through a special dispensation. The ministry assured that it will engage B.S.I. and Santander to ensure that there are adequate supplies of white and brown sugar on the shelves.