BSI Says Farmers are Already Benefiting from DC Sugar

BSI’s Chief Financial Officer Shawn Chavarria explains the benefits that farmers are enjoying from the manufacture and sale of direct consumption sugars to the external market.

Shawn Chavarria, Chief Financial Officer, BSI

Shawn Chavarria

“Farmers are already seeing as well the benefits of that investment, the increased production of direct consumption sugar.  We’ve highlighted to them that, for example, last crop, the 2021 crop, by replacing the raw sugar that we were producing with direct consumption sugar we sold twice the amount of direct consumption sugar than we did in the 2020 crop and the price improvement to farmers last year was three dollars and twenty-one cents per ton of cane and it’s been steadily improving since we’ve made this investment of sixty-four million to move towards a greater production of direct consumption sugar.  For next year, that benefit is continuing and we’re seeing improvements in world market price for sugar, we’re also bringing in the benefits of the transition to Big Creek and we’re seeing lower ocean freight savings and that is resulting in improvements in the price for cane.  Compared to last year, the first cane prices last year was $43.86, this year it’s $50.62.  What that will result in is that the first payment that is going to be made to farmers for this upcoming crop will increase from $36.40 to $40.50.  So it just demonstrates that the investments that we are making are having tangible benefits to cane farmers.”