Minister Gapi Vega says sugar production is on target

Earlier this year, there was a threat that the sugar production target of one point two million tons would not be met because of a dispute between cane farmers and the Belize Sugar Industries over bagasse. The crop season normally in late November, but because of the dispute, the mills did not crank up until late January. But all’s well that ends well because the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Gaspar Vega, says that despite the delays, this year farmers have improved their cane fields and will be meeting their production quota.

Gaspar Vega, Minister of Agriculture

Gaspar Vega

“I think that is; the quota for the sugar has already been met or just about. So we are going to be able to supersede the quota. We are really having an extremely good crop this year. That is because of the investment that ASR has done in the factory because in such a short time, we have been able to mill an average of twenty percent more than what we used to mill in last year. They have invested something like twenty-five million dollars just in the last year in introducing some evaporators so that the factory doesn’t have to close down every two weeks to service and stuff like that and it has really improved the million capacity. And also the cane farmers. They have improved their fields, they have invested in replanting; they have changed attitudes especially habits in harvesting. They are ensuring that they deliver clean cane; they’ve been able to create this competitiveness in seeing which branch gets the highest paid for their cane. Hence all these things enhanced the crop for this year.”