…But Cane Delivery Drastically Decreased This Year

The cane supply for milling has been very slow, with farmers citing a range of reasons, including the poor state of feeder roads and some uncertainty over the start date. Up to ten o’clock this morning, one hundred and thirty-seven trucks made cane delivery to the factory which amounted to two thousand, six hundred tons of cane. McLachlan emphasized the requirement for steady cane supply to keep the mill operating. He says that the factory cannot run effectively with less than five thousand, five hundred tons of cane per day. Without this, the milling season can be jeopardized. McLachlan is urging farmers to respond and deliver their cane.

Mac McLachlan, VP, International Relations, A.S.R./B.S.I

“We are schedule to grind on average six and a half tons of cane per day across the whole crop. That includes that the down time of the factory. So when we are grinding it should be around seven thousand tons of cane. If there is a some good tons when the cane is drier and we can extract the sugar then we can then maybe do a little more than that than at times when it is wet and there are issues. It might be a little less than that. As things stand, the gates are open. We have insufficient cane supply and the mill needs a certain level of cane supply to be able to run efficiently, to run at all, frankly. So we need that cane supply. We need it right now. All I would say is that straight from the horse’s mouth. So farmers don’t need to worry about anything they are hearing, crop and all of the rest of it. Let’s just get on with the crop and try to make it the best crop we possibly can. If it is gets to the point where there isn’t enough cane then we have a problem because not only do we have to stop milling but in time especially in the beginning of the crop we are not going to have sufficient baggers to keep that crop operations running and a s result of that we have been urging the start f this crop for some time now and for some reason or the other it has been delayed. We are now working. We are open. Farmers are aware of that. Everything has been done. The crop has been properly open. It is really just a case of everyone is mobilizing and making sure they are bringing their cane in.”

Hipolito Novelo

“You said that yesteryear was a very difficult year for the crop. Do you believe that going into this year given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the floodings affecting the crop might be the worse year for the crop?”

Mac McLachlan

Mac McLachlan

“That is a very good point. We work very hard as industry, farmers with ourselves, with the institutions during the beginnings of the pandemic, during the last crop to make sure that were as prepared, as protected as an industry as possible for this awful pandemic. We continue to do that. We are following guidelines. We are following all protocols in order to ensure that we can manage that crop safely, securely. We understand that importance of the sugar industry for food security for Belize and for the economic benefits it brings to the country as a whole. Our intention is to ensure that we undertake all the right procedures and rules to ensure that we can manage the crop safely for everybody’s sake.”