Belize Builds Caribbean’s First Sugar Refinery

Construction of the Caribbean’s first sugar refinery is well on its way and with it Belize is set to take a major step up the regional sugar value chain. A forty-million-dollar investment by U.S. based SUCRO Sourcing is being channeled through Santander Sugar to establish the Caribbean Sugar Refinery, a project that is already under construction and expected to become operational by April 2026. Once completed, the refinery will allow Belize to move beyond exporting primarily raw sugar, plantation white and brown and into the production of refined sugar, a product that Belize and several CARICOM states currently import. The investment agreement materialized during the Belize Investment Summit and was endorsed by CARICOM, through its Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). It boosts regional production, value-added manufacturing and reduced dependence on extra-regional imports. We spoke with Santander’s Public Relations Manager who says this refinery has been long overdue.

 

On the Phone: Beverly Burke, Public Relations Manager, Santander

“A refinery was our plan from the very inception from the day Santander came to Belize, it was a part of their plan to do a refinery. That’s been on the table for well over ten, twelve years now, so it’s a natural fit. So SUCRA and Santander then went into this joint venture agreement putting together some twenty million US dollars for this refinery to become a reality. Sugar, as is, is a tradable commodity. It’s on the world market and we do find that there was – there’s a gap within the Caribbean market because no one is producing this product. So, all refined sugar into the Caribbean market is imported. We feel that we are ready, we have grown Santander sugar. To the point where we can now go to that next stage of making a refined sugar for the wider market. The economic impact is definitely going to be significant. You are right in talking about new hires because new Belizean will be coming on board to ensure that there is continuity where the pricing structure is concern. We’re talking sustainability and we are talking competitiveness. We do believe that it’s going to be. A product that can be affordable, it will be affordable, as well as accessible to all the sustainability aspect is major for us here at Santander. And we continue to contribute significantly to social security, to income tax, to the overall GDP.”