Sugar Industry Secures Lifeline with Deal Extension

Sugar industry stakeholders say the factory is set to open one week from today, and farmers? They’re ready in the fields and cautiously optimistic about better yields this year. But here’s the twist: the government is weighing in on just how close the industry came to collapse. Minister of State for Economic Transformation, Dr. Osmond Martinez, says a one-year extension of the Commercial Agreement between the Belize Sugarcane Farmers Association and Belize Sugar Industries is a game-changer. He calls it a lifeline that will restore confidence for thousands of families who depend on sugar for their livelihood. And he’s praising the negotiating process, calling it unprecedented for how smoothly it unfolded.

 

Dr. Osmond Martinez, Minister of State, Economic Transformation

“The industry was on crisis just a few months ago. When you really think about the sugar industry maybe five, six months ago, everyone would have thought that the industry was going to collapse and disappear. And at the same time a lot of uncertainties were created on family members, especially those family members that depend on the success of the sugar industry. And now it has, it had achieve in dynamic but also on the vision, that is a collective vision. And I want to put on record that BSCFA – I’m really impressed. I’m proud of them on their act of good faith, on negotiating on good faith by putting forward a main outcome and that outcome was to look out for their memberships, the cane farmers, the most vulnerable producers. The smallest farmers that you can think of, they thought of every single one of them and based on that they acted in good faith. The negotiations were smooth. I think it’s an unprecedented case that has been established because negotiations usually would have come with some sort of political unrest, disruptions; nonetheless, in this case, it was a smooth one.”