Citrus Growers Association tones down contention for AGM
While the cane farmers were agitated in the north, in the South the annual general meeting of the Citrus Growers Association was subdued over the past weekend. The meeting started in the morning and went well into the afternoon; it was held with relative quiet compared to previous contentious meetings. The growers looked at the future course of action in respect of the investment by Banks Holdings which holds forty-seven percent of shares in its subsidiary, the C.P.B.L. News Five’s Isani Cayetano traveled south for the AGM, which also appointed the first representative of the small growers to the Board.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The heart of Belize’s thriving citrus industry is the Stann Creek valley, a community of farmers, growers and entrepreneurs that remains commercially divided. For several years investors in this lucrative business have been fixed in an internal conflict as it regards the management of Citrus Products of Belize Limited. C.P.B.L. is the manufacturing arm, a subsidiary of a larger body that makes up the Citrus Growers Association. The company is quite famous for its Caribbean Pride juices but behind the marketing and ubiquity of its products is a civil war that has been waged in the boardroom and the chambers of the Supreme Court.
Caught in the maelstrom of this ongoing dispute are the small growers, a silent lot that has been seeking representation at the board level. This weekend at the Forty-Second AGM of the Citrus Growers Association the freedom of choosing a representative who will champion issues affecting minority stakeholders saw the election of Norvia Jaime.
Norvia Jaime, Newly Elected Director, C.G.A.
Norvia Jaime
“As a director I see myself representing both small growers and large growers at the same time. I do believe that small growers look forward to me representing them as the small growers, the grower in need and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I will work hard. Like I said, I will work diligently to try to help small growers or to get the others on board so that they can see that small growers need to be looked at and assisted as much as possible.”
Despite the ambition of finding harmony between large and small growers the industry is at a crossroads. Over the past two years revenue derived from citrus production has been on the decline. While the shortcoming may not be attributed directly to the power struggle within the administration of C.P.B.L. its parent company, C.G.A., says it’s an issue that needs to be looked at from the ground up.
henry anderson
Henry Anderson, C.E.O., Citrus Growers Association
“We need to ensure that we restructure this industry to look at it from the growing all the way down to the branding of the juice. And if we do that in such a way where the growers get the returns they need to take care of the groves the processor and whoever is in there get their returns and we all establish our own brands that we can leverage. It will take time and we all pay attention to the very important things like plant health, we have HLB greening. We can put together a system where the income is distributed in such a way where the people who need to make a private return get it properly and we invest in the areas that we need to invest to ensure the sustainability and viability of this industry going forward.”
Back in April the Supreme Court handed down a decision allowing the Citrus Growers Association to appoint a fifth member to the existing Board of Directors for C.P.B.L. According to C.G.A. Committee Chairman Bryon Bowman, they have been meeting with representatives of Banks Holdings, a foreign company with a huge stake in the local industry.
Bryon Bowman, Chairman, CGA Management Committee
byron bowman
“We did have a meeting a few weeks ago with Banks Holdings in Miami and I think this meeting was important for us to get by. We will reorganize our boards and hopefully we, early next week we can resume some dialogue back with the Barbadians and move this industry forward.”
Part of doing so is having members of the association participate in a voting process which allows them to choose directors to sit on C.G.A.’s board of management.
Bryon Bowman
“Nine directors and every year three retire for rotation so it’s a three-year cycle and stepping down today was Wilmot Simmons, Antonio Zabaneh and Charles Woods. Being re-elected was Charles Woods, Antonio Zabaneh and a new director Ms. Norvia Jaime from down in Trio, Independence Village.”
Jaime, who admitted to a lack of confidence in the current state of affairs, says that although being new to management she is willing to do her part in unifying stakeholders within the industry.
Norvia Jaime
“There is a fight, an ongoing feud between I’d say two parties, in my opinion, and at this moment as a small grower I don’t have a lot of trust and until I serve and I see for myself what is happening, until then I will be convinced, I have, like I’ve told you before, I have this opportunity to learn, to share and to support.”
Anderson, on the other hand, shares a slightly different perspective.
Henry Anderson
“The membership passed a resolution essentially empowering the committee of management and by extension its Investment Company Limited to seek to move things with Banks and if that can’t happen in terms of getting an equitable arrangement with respect to the investment agreement then to start talking about a divorce if they want to talk about that. But I mean that’s a process that you’d look at and look at the feasibility and doing it in a responsible business way and looking to salvage a business relationship with them if it ever comes to that.”
And while that may not be the hope of C.G.A. it did, in its meeting on Saturday, resolve that if Banks Holdings does not agree to amend the existing Investment Agreement and Business Model to reflect recommendations made by C.G.A.’s directors it will begin to look at the possibility of acquiring Banks’ shares in C.P.B.L. Reporting for News Five, Isani Cayetano.
Saturday’s AGM also elected Charles Woods as Chairman of the Committee of management.
