B.S.C.F.A. Responds To B.S.I. On Fairtrade Agreement

The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association has responded to a statement issued by A.S.R./B.S.I. regarding the procedures for Fairtrade Premium Payments.  Those statements came in a press release issued on Friday.  In its rejoinder, B.S.C.F.A. says, “it has not received any Fairtrade Premiums for Fairtrade sugar sold by Tate & Lyle Sugars (TLS) for both the 2021-2022 sugar cane crop and for the 2022-2023 crop to date. According to B.S.I./A.S.R. press release, TLS does not purchase Fairtrade sugar from B.S.C.F.A. because it does not have an agreement with B.S.C.F.A. to do so due to a breakdown in their relationship. TLS purchases Fairtrade Sugar from Belize as a country, and not from individual associations. The supplier of Fairtrade Sugar from Belize to TLS is B.S.I./A.S.R. All four associations deliver sugar cane to B.S.I./A.S.R. The B.S.C.F.A. affirms that the Fairtrade Standards require only that B.S.C.F.A. or any other cane farmer association have a valid Fairtrade certification and a commercial agreement with B.S.I./A.S.R. to deliver Fairtrade certified sugar cane in order to receive Fairtrade Premiums for any Fairtrade sugar sold, which B.S.C.F.A. and the other cane farmer associations have”.