B.S.C.F.A. Official Explains Why They Object Price Hike on Brown Sugar

While the government is lending its support to both sides to reach a happy medium on a commercial agreement, earlier today we asked the Chairman of the Committee of Management for the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, Alfredo Ortega, to explain his association’s position to the suggestion among some farmers to raise the price of brown sugar. 

Alfredo Ortega

Alfredo Ortega, Chairman, Committee of Management, B.S.C.F.A

“Since 2012, we were asking for an increase of the price of sugar, and they didn’t went through that until 2015. After the election, we asked for both sugars for the white sugar and the, the plantation white and the brown sugar to be increased. Nevertheless, the government at the time only increased the white sugar on which we stayed like that for quite a while, no, we didn’t. As B.S.C.F.A., we didn’t know that B.S.I has already sent a paper to the Prime Minister in which they have been asking for an increase on price of the brown sugar and lately we get to understand that the two other association have sent the request to the Prime Minister also to increase the (price of) sugar. We are not in agreement into that because there are many other ways where the price of ton of cane can be increased in favor of the farmer without having to penalize the Belize consumers in raising the price of sugar because if they raise the price of sugar, believe me, you that the bread and other stuff will be increased. So we as the B.S.C.F.A., we don’t support that. What we want is that that forty/sixty be instituted and then the farmers will get a better payment for their cane.”