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As we said, A.S.R./B.S.I. and B.S.C.F.A. signed a one-year interim agreement. The mill initially proposed a two-year interim agreement, following a failed mediation exercise. Shawn Chavarria, the Director of Finance at A.S.R./B.S.I., shared the company’s rationale behind agreeing to a one-year interim agreement in place of its initial proposal. Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance, […]
Written on December 27, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on B.S.I. On One-Year Interim Agreement: “The Priority Became Getting the Crop Started”
In our conversation with S.I.C.B. Chairman Marcos Osorio, we also asked him about S.I.C.B.’s decision to push the start date to the twenty-seventh of December, despite the fact that the mill was prepared to accept sugarcane on the nineteenth. Osorio also responded to an allegation that the start date and the condition attached were primarily […]
Written on December 27, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on S.I.C.B. Chairman Responds to Accusation of Undue Influence from Minister of Agriculture
Sugar cane farmers in the north, represented by various associations, have signed a one-year interim agreement with A.S.R./B.S.I., effectively breaking a deadlock between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and the miller. That means that the new sugar crop will likely commence on Tuesday, December twenty-seventh. Earlier this week, Prime Minister John Briceño and Minister […]
Written on December 23, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on B.S.C.F.A. and B.S.I. Enter into One-year Interim Agreement
Last night, we told you that A.S.R./B.S.I. is proposing a two-year interim agreement with B.S.C.F.A. under the same conditions as last year’s crop. Well, Prime Minister John Briceño says B.S.I.’s two-year agreement is too lengthy a term. According to the P.M., the government will intervene to propose a one-year interim agreement. During that one-year period, […]
Written on December 21, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on PM Briceño Says Two Years Too Much for Interim Agreement between B.S.I. and B.S.C.F.A.
Late this evening, Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai, confirmed with News Five that mediation between A.S.R./B.S.I. and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association has failed. He conceded that while mediation was a worthwhile effort, many expected it to fail. We asked him about the Sugar Industry Control Board’s decision to propose that the 2022/2023 […]
Written on December 21, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Mediation Between A.S.R./B.S.I. and B.S.C.F.A. Failed
According to Mai, the Ministry of Agriculture has been in discussions with A.S.R./B.S.I. to have the proposed two-year interim agreement reduced to one year. But, will the sugarcane farmers yield to a one-year agreement, with only seven days left before SICB’s proposed start date for the 2022/2023 sugar crop? Minister Mai says the farmers will […]
Written on December 21, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Minister Mai: B.S.C.F.A. Leadership Willing to Accept One-Year Interim Agreement in Principle
There appears to be no resolution in sight for the sugar dispute between A.S.R./B.S.I. and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association. Tonight, B.S.I. is suggesting that the B.S.C.F.A. and the millers sign a two-year interim commercial agreement on the same terms as the last crop. A release from the mill says that the suggestion is […]
Written on December 20, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on B.S.I. Proposes Two-Year Interim Commercial Agreement with B.S.C.F.A.
When will the 2022/2023 sugar crop begin? That is the question on the minds of many. Today, A.S.R./B.S.I. issued a statement to the media earlier today saying that the mill has informed farmers and industry stakeholders that they are ready to accept cane starting December nineteenth, 2022. But, as we have reported, the Sugar Industry […]
Written on December 19, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Start of 2022/2023 Sugar Crop Conditional on Signing of Commercial Agreement
The new sugar crop is four days away and today there’s still no concrete outcome coming out of the mediations between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and A.S.R/B.S.I. The Minister of Agriculture told reporters today that he was concerned about what will come out of the last session because at stake are the livelihoods […]
Written on December 15, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Still No Compromises in Sugar Impasse As Time Draws Near for New Crop
Several farmers in rural Belize and Cayo districts mainly suffered losses in crops due to Hurricane Lisa on November second. Today, the Minister of Agriculture, Jose Abelardo Mai, told reporters that the final tally of the overall loss is still being worked out. Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security & Enterprise “We […]
Written on December 15, 2022 | Posted in
Agriculture |
Comments Off on Final Tally of Damages to Crops Still Being Worked Out
Over forty newly-qualified beekeepers graduated today after successfully completing training in that field of work. The beekeepers, who hail from all across the country, gathered at Hodie’s Place in San Ignacio to receive their certificates of completion. The accomplishment means more than just the fact that Belize has more honey producers. It means that the […]
Written on December 15, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Ministry of Agriculture Graduates Forty Beekeepers Following Training
A.S.R./ B.S.I. and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association are still in negotiation over a revised Commercial Agreement. As we have reported, Julie- Ann Ellis Bradley has been hired as an independent mediator in these negotiations. All those discussions are confidential, so there is not much that can be said outside the four walls of […]
Written on December 8, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Mediator for A.S.R./B.S.I.- B.S.C.F.A. Impasse Facilitating Discussions
A ceremony was held today at the Biltmore Plaza in Belize to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Compete Caribbean. But what is Compete Caribbean? It is a private sector development program that delivers innovative and practical solutions that stimulate economic growth, increase productivity and fosters innovation and competitiveness, while promoting economic inclusion. The Inter-American Development […]
Written on December 5, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Celebrating 10 Years of Compete Caribbean
The 2022-2023 sugar crop is scheduled to commence in two weeks, on December nineteenth, but still there is no resolution to the impasse between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and American Sugar Refinery/Belize Sugar Industries Ltd. After almost a year of back and forth, in late October, both parties finally agreed to the services […]
Written on December 5, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Julie-Ann Bradley is Appointed Mediator in Sugar Impasse
The next few days are critical for the industry, as well as the start of the upcoming crop. Agriculture Minister Jose Abelardo Mai says that each day without a resolution, both the miller and the sugar cane farmers are losing. Minister Mai says that the entire northern economy would be affected if there is a […]
Written on December 5, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Sugar Industry Resolution is Critical as Crop is Set to Begin December 19th
While with the Minister of Agriculture, the media also asked for an update on the damage assessment to the agriculture sector, following Hurricane Lisa. Minister Jose Abelardo Mai shares detail on the final report on the impact of the natural disaster on the sector, which has been submitted to NEMO. He also gave an update […]
Written on December 5, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Minister Mai on Damage Assessment for Agriculture Sector
We have reported on agricultural encroachments that persist both on the natural corridors of wildlife, as well as unexcavated archaeological sites. It’s done by farmers who procure land and clear away the natural flora and fauna and whatever else they find in order to farm. Belize is not only heading towards becoming a more self-sustainable […]
Written on December 5, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Agriculture Official: There Has to Be Land Planning to Avoid Encroachments with Development
Everyone knows that prices of goods are not their cheapest in San Pedro, simply because it is a top tourism destination. So even the price of a regular plate of rice and beans that you pay eight dollars for in Belize City, could easily cost you twice as much on the island. But now, the price […]
Written on December 2, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on San Pedro Opens Marketing & Development Outlet for Local Producers
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the PROCASUR Corporation from Chile, hosted a five-day business capacity and skills building exercise for agricultural organizations across the country. PROCASUR applied its learning route tool, a mechanism developed by the company to build management capacity […]
Written on December 1, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Knowledge Exchange Program for Agriculture Industry
The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association says it is making progress with Belize Sugar Industries Limited in naming a mediator for its ongoing negotiations. Today, we spoke with Alfredo Ortega, the Chairman of the Committee of Management for B.S.C.F.A., who told us that farmers are beginning to see the light at the end of the […]
Written on November 23, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on B.S.C.F.A. Regains Positive Outlook on Commercial Agreement Negotiations
With over two hundred and sixty thousand tons of stand-over sugarcane left in the field from last season, B.S.C.F.A. says it has no intentions to cause a blockade or delay the opening of the sugar crop. According to Ortega, in their last association meeting, members indicated that their primary desire is to see an agreement […]
Written on November 23, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on B.S.C.F.A. Anticipating Delivery of Two Hundred and Sixty Tons of Stand-Over Sugarcane
The entrance of Tower Hill looks the same way it did ten years ago. But the interior where sugarcane is milled and converted to sugar has undergone a series of upgrades between 2019 and 2022. Today, the company took the media on a tour of the facility to show how sixty million dollars was invested […]
Written on November 16, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on A Media Tour of B.S.I. Factory and the Stainless Steel Investments
The dispute between the American Sugar Refinery, Belize Sugar Industries Limited and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association has gone on for the better part of a year and perhaps almost for two years now. With no commercial agreement signed yet, both parties are also yet to agree on a mediator who will attempt to […]
Written on November 16, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on B.S.I. Says B.S.C.F.A. is Being Irrational with Its Demands
There have been some demands that the B.S.C.F.A has made on A.S.R/B.S.I., to furnish financial documents that the company does not feel it is obliged to provide since those documents do not fall within the ambit of the commercial agreement by which both parties operate with each other. But despite these fundamental differences and the […]
Written on November 16, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Despite the Differences, B.S.I Hopes to Reach an Agreement by December Nineteenth
We continue our coverage of the ongoing impasse between the Belize Sugar Industries and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, with more from Mac MacLachlan, the Vice President of International Relations at A.S.R./B.S.I. In an interview with reporters on Thursday, MacLachlan explained in great detail why the most contentious aspect of the ongoing negotiations towards […]
Written on November 11, 2022 | Posted in
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Comments Off on BSI On Proposed 60/40 Formula: “That Makes No Logical Sense”
