BSI Invests Another $40 Million in Value Added Production
The Belize Sugar Industries has announced that it will invest an additional forty million dollars over the next eighteen months to improve efficiency and further increase value-added production to the benefit of the sugar industry. In September 2017, B.S.I. invested twenty-two million dollars to increase production of value added, direct consumption sugars at its Tower Hill plant. The aim was to stabilize the industry following changes to the European Union market which have done away with preferential pricing for Belizean raw sugar. Today, A.S.R./B.S.I.’s Vice President for International Relations, Mac Maclachlan shared the news of the company’s latest investment.
Mac Maclachlan, Vice President, International Relations, A.S.R./B.S.I.
Mac Maclachlan
“We are proud to announce today that we are about to put in our next major investment into Belize Sugar Industries, forty million Belize dollars over the next eighteen months and the purpose of that investment is to ensure that we are building stability for our business moving forward. I think everybody is aware that it’s a tough time to be in the sugar business right now, it’s extremely low sugar prices and it’s important that we have the confidence and the faith to keep moving forward as an industry in order to provide greater efficiency of sugar production and also to continue to expand the amount of direct consumption food grade sugars we produce at BSI which are added value products compared to raw sugar which is traditionally being produced.”
Reporter
“Does that translate to any increased profits or income for the farmers or just for BSI?”
Mac Maclachlan
“No, I mean that’s the thing about this industry and many sugar industries around the world. We are joined at the hip, there’s no cane, there’s no business and if there’s no mill there’s no where for the cane so what’s important is for us all to move together to try and improve productivity and efficiency. Now in Belize, through a value share agreement, any added value that is earned by the mill is automatically shared with cane farmers. So you will recall in September last year we announced our previous investment of twenty-two million Belize dollars and that was to increase our ability to produce food grade sugars, value added sugars from thirty to fifty thousand tons in a crop.”
This is the largest single investment made in Belize Sugar Industries since it was acquired by A.S.R.
