Experts say sugar industry will rebound

The Office of the United States Trade Representative has announced the sugar quota for countries exporting to the U.S. Belize’s allotment for the fiscal year starting October first and ending September thirtieth 2009, is eleven thousand five hundred and eighty-three metric tons. This is the same quota agreed to last year, but according to Belize Sugar Industries Finance Officer Belizario Carballo, Belize could not take up that quota as they experienced their worst crop ever. Carballo says that the last crop only produced seventy-eight thousand tons of sugar and about sixty-five thousand of it was sold to the E.U., which continues to be Belize’s best market. The poor output was a result of a sharp decline in cane supply partially due to the effects of Hurricane Dean and poor cane quality. B.S.I. is hoping that things will rebound next crop to the average one point two million tons of cane and as such are changing their payment system from one based on weight to one which takes quality into consideration as an incentive to farmers. As for revenue, the last crop, brought in eighty-six million Belize dollars, but that is merely a shadow of 2007’s one hundred and eight million and 2006’s one hundred and twenty million dollars.