Company Not Even Empowered to Produce Plantation White Sugar

Minister Panton says that Santander has met with the Ministry of Trade, but is also requesting a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture, even though it has already violated the EPZ in retailing plantation white sugar.

Isani Cayetano

“Have they approached to meet with you as the minister, or with your ministry to see how this can be resolved from their end, having introduced their product into our local market?”

Tracey Panton

Tracey Panton, Minister of State, Trade & Investment

“There has been a meeting, as I said, yesterday, with the C.E.O. in our ministry and our Director of Investment.  I understand as well that they have requested a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture this afternoon.  But both ministers will have to meet and a formal assessment will have to be done in terms of the need for more sugar in the marketplace, that sort of thing.  Please bear in mind that they do not have permission by the Government of Belize, even to produce plantation white.  So even that is in contravention of their concession arrangement with the Government of Belize.  They have gone ahead and done it anyway.  It’s made, I guess, exacerbated because even though they’ve done that outside of what is legally doable, they have also put it on the local market without any waiver or permits by the Government of Belize.  I know that the [Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association] in the north are very upset, we try to be very clear with them that there has been no agreement or any consideration for such a waiver or permit at this time.  We will issue a press release to make that absolutely clear and before any such consideration all relevant stakeholders will be consulted.”

Santander, since establishing itself as a going concern in Belize back in 2012, has remained controversial.  It ran afoul of environmental compliance in 2012 when a subsidiary, Green Tropics, razed a swath of land through the Labouring Creek Jaguar Corridor Wildlife Sanctuary.  It was fined one hundred thousand dollars by the Ministry of Environment.  In another unfortunate episode, the company destroyed a huge acreage of vegetables on farmlands use by growers in the Valley of Peace community.  Peppers, cabbages and other vegetables were all singed when a crop-duster flew overhead and sprayed chemicals on the plants below.