Santander Plans to Increase Sugar Production to 100 Metric Tons

Beverly Burke

Santander Sugar Group plans to work with farmers in the area to increase its sugar production. The company exports its sugar through the Big Creek Port and for this harvest season, Santander Sugar Group is projecting a sugar production of fifty-seven thousand metric tons of sugar and to double production in two years. To do this, the company will enter into a symbiotic relationship with farmers who want to use their land for cane plantation. Compliance, Government Affairs, and Public Relations Manager Beverly Burke outlined how that will be achieved.

Beverly Burke, Compliance, Gov’t Affairs & P.R. Manager, Santander Sugar Group

“Traditionally we are aware that farming especially sugar cane farming in Belize has been done manually for the past forty years so when we talk about mechanized farming and mechanized harvesting the technology is new and therefore the learning curve was steep. We transferred that knowledge to those farmers interested and hence start the building of our supply change. Anyone looking to participating in that concern, we utilize two models really where we encourage individual lands owners to plant cane. We contract them and that builds into our supply. Secondly, there are land owners who want to strictly to lease their land. We do have an arrangement that we contract with them as well. Ideally we want to invite the local farmers to grow more cane. Once your contract is set then you also know that your earning is set.”

Jose Rodriguez

Jose Rodriguez, C.E.O., Santander Sugar Group

“We are paying for the sugarcane standing on the field of every farmer. We go with the harvesters and the trucks to harvest the cane and it is out cost to take it to the sugar mill. That way a cane farmer that is five miles from the sugar mill will have the same price that a farmer that is fifteen or twenty miles from the sugar mill. We take the cost for that. The price that we pay to the cane farmers will but not the same as B.S.I. price that pays to the cane farmers because that price is cost of harvest included.”