A.S.R./B.S.I. to Receive Cane Deliveries on December 28th

The sugar cane crop season is set to sort of open on Monday, December twenty-eight. We say sort of because A.S.R./B.S.I. has announced that it would be receiving cane deliveries on that day but the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise believes that reopening the crop season on Monday, under certain circumstances, is unfair to more than fifty percent of the cane farmers in the north. According to Minister Jose Mai, a lengthy meeting between all stakeholders was held on Wednesday during which an agreement on the sugar production estimate was not decided on. He says that as it stands right now, cane farmers who have been producing cane at a higher cost due to COVID-19 and the flooding, stand to lose significantly. 

Jose Mai

Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security & Enterprise

“Many of the farmers, more than fifty percent of the farmers are not in agreement with the sugar cane production estimate which was presented by the sugar production committee. Now that production estimate has led to the creation of a cane farmers registry. The registry is a document that says that Mister X will deliver x amount of sugar cane.  Farmers are not pleased with the figure they see on the registry which was derived from the sugar cane production estimate. That was in discussion yesterday at the Sugar Industry Control Board meeting. The motion whether to support or to reject the production estimate was not done but discussions surrounding that specific topic was carried out. The meeting went from two o’clock up to six o’clock and they arrived at nothing. They did not arrive to any agreement on whether they will accept or reject that registry, the list. The chairman of the board and the members I think were trying not to have a confrontation with A.S.R. and the other association. So it was a peaceful meeting. It was lengthy but they arrived at nothing. You would understand that the Sugar Industry Control board is the principal policy making organ in the industry and as such it controls and supervises the other bodies in the industry. Nevertheless, the chairman did not exercise that authority yesterday at the board meeting. We were hoping that we could arrive at an amicable solution and we could begin the crop with a production estimate that would benefit most farmers.”