E.U. contributes to sugar, banana industry

In addition to the groundbreaking in Cayo, two major initiatives by the European Union for the sugar and banana industry were formalised today in Belmopan. Signing for Belize was Prime Minister Said Musa, while newly appointed E.U. representative, Marco Mazzochi-Alemanni did the honours for the Europeans. The seven point six million dollars for the sugar industry will be used to both make the industry more competitive and provide new economic opportunities for those marginalised by those changes. According to a government release, this year’s funding is only the prelude to more substantial annual allocations to be made through 2013. The E.U.’s assistance to the sugar industry is to partially compensate Belize and other former colonies for the loss of preferential tariffs on sugar and other commodities. A similar agreement worth five point four million dollars was signed today to help improve efficiency in the banana industry and enhance the quality of life for workers.