B.S.I. warned it can’t eat its cake on commercial agreement

The Opposition People’s United Party has been closely following the sugar situation. Following a record-breaking crop year and in advance of an expected downturn in prices with the leveling of the European market, American Sugar Refining/Belize Sugar Industries is asking farmers to proceed with the remainder of the current commercial agreement. While two of the three cane farmers’ associations have agreed, the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers’ Association wants to make some amendments, to which B.S.I. has balked. Spokesperson for agriculture, Jose Mai, told News Five that any successful negotiation ought to be on a level playing field and he blames B.S.I., not his fellow caneros, for trying to limit those negotiations.

Jose Mai, Area Rep., Orange Walk South

Jose Mai

“Any negotiation and I stand by this point – any negotiation between the stakeholders must end in fair benefit to all parties involved. I’ve maintained that position from the onset. If there is going to be any negotiation, all must benefit; it cannot be a one-sided negotiation that will not take our industry forward, especially at this point, where we need to be united. We need to be fair to every stakeholder in the industry. You cannot come to the table and say, ‘I want to negotiate; let us re-open for negotiation, but you, the farmer, cannot amend anything, only I can amend something.’ That is not negotiation; that is wanting to have your cake and eat it at the same time.”