Still no payment for bagasse to cane farmers

While the impending Fairtrade disaster has taken center stage with the B.S.C.F.A. and the five thousand plus cane farmers in the north, there is plenty of turmoil in the industry even without it. Bagasse payment remains the ten thousand pound gorilla in the room which nobody wants to touch. The Sugar Industry Control Board, G.O.B.’s entity in the industry, has been asked to intervene and to assist with an independent expert. That body has finally responded, and that response has sent the B.S.C.F.A. and B.S.I. back to the table.

Alfredo Ortega, Vice Chairman, Committee of Management, B.S.C.F.A.

“A meeting was called from the Sugar Board, from the SICB, on which B.S.I. presented that they had sent a letter to the association that they would want to continue the negotiation with the association. But the association did not answer them because we were awaiting the result of the board meeting. Well in that board meeting, it throws the ball again into our ball court for us to meet with B.S.I.  And in this meeting that was held today, the branch chairman agreed that we will be meeting with B.S.I., but having into consideration sending a letter again to the board on which we are requesting that the independent expert be hired for him to look on the formulas of both sides and for him to come out with an analysis to present to us.”

Reporter

Alfredo Ortega

“I understand that there are also other conditions in that letter; one of them being that B.S.I./BELCOGEN presents their audited reports?”

Alfredo Ortega

“Yes we asked them that we would want to have the continuation of the negotiation, but with this information that we are being asking fro from the initial start of this negotiation which is the audit report, BELCOGEN audit report also and their financial report. They have said that there are certain information that are sensitive that they cannot give us so we will see what the results of that meeting. We have proposed to them the twenty-ninth, they proposed the fifth and now we will be sending them a letter that we would want to meet with them on the third of September.”

B.S.I. has remained adamant that there is no need for third party intervention, and also that they will not hand over audited B.S.I./BELCOGEN financial reports.