Belize’s Sugar Industry Faces Labor Crunch, Rising Costs

Last season, more than a hundred thousand tons of sugarcane were left to rot in the fields because there simply weren’t enough hands to harvest. Though the industry is moving towards more mechanical farming, there is still a great need for manual labor. Farmers have long turned to immigrant labor to fill the gap, but they say work permit fees for foreign workers are simply too steep. We put that concern to Prime Minister Briceño and he says the issue isn’t about fees but rather the availability of labor and delays in approvals. But industry stakeholders argue the charges have skyrocketed, from fifty dollars to as much as two hundred dollars a month, making it harder to keep their workforce legal. Here’s what Prime Minister Briceño and leaders of the Progressive Sugar Cane Producers Association had to say.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I don’t think it’s so much about the charges, because the charges are, has always been there. We have not raised any charges. I think more than anything else the availability of manual labor. And secondly, that sometimes the ministries they take too long in the approval. Of course, nobody wants to pay for anything. If they don’t have to pay, all the better for them.”

 

Cosme Hernandez, General Manager, Progressive Sugarcane Farmers Asso.

“That’s an issue that was brought yes at yesterday’s meeting with Minister Martinez. Previously, what has, what was charged I think it’s over five – six years ago was fifty dollars for a workers’ permit and fifty dollars to extend that workers’ permit (until you get it) the extension that we used to get. The current charges are – is two hundred monthly. So that has been a problem for the past two, three years, and it was mentioned yesterday to see how best we can address that issue right now.”

 

Shane Williams

“What’s the proposal to address this issue?”

 

Cosme Hernandez

“To go back to where we were before, fifty dollars.”