BELMOPAN, Belize – Belize has shipped an estimated BDZ$45 million (One Belize dollar=US$0.49 cents) of raw sugar to the United Kingdom even as the country deals with a fungal disease was found to have infected up to 40,000 acres of sugar cane.
Record raw sugar being loaded for export to EnglandThe disease causes the cane to yellow and wilt, making them unfit for sugar production, and had cased the government to declare a state of emergency in sugar industry.
Belize Sugar Industries (BSI)Communications Director, William Neal, said there’s a lot of research still ongoing and that some areas have been more impacted than others.
“It was triggered perhaps by the climate change challenges. The extended droughts, the excessive rains. It just created the perfect conditions for it to grow. I don’t think they have identified exactly what species it is. So there’s some best practices that they’re testing, but I don’t think enough time has passed to say how effective those are.
“Of course you have to do everything that you can to make sure that you have the maximum input and in some cases the estimate is that production could fall as much as thirty percent, that’s significant. That’s one third of your production. So it’s something that we definitely have to, as an industry, focus on and try to mitigate the impact of it,” he said ahead of the new sugar crop season due to begin this week.
The discovery of the fungus has not hampered the BSI as it is gearing up to ship the largest quantity of raw sugar in the country’s history, reflecting a successful cane season and Neal says he remains optimistic about the new season.
“We’ve had discussions with stakeholders and it was decided that the start of crop work and that would be the December 27,,” he said, adding that BSI, established in 1963, and controlled by the US-based ASR Group International, Inc. (ASR) since 2012, had actually proposed that the new season start on December 17.
“We know that we have a lot of challenges with rain and climate change in general, but we thought because of the sarium disease as well that we should start as early as possible, however, and it was agreed that we would start on the 27th of December, and I think that should be that’s it.
“We don’t foresee any challenges in that regard. But of course, the farmers and the farmer associations asked for that because there were concerns about the rains, the condition of fields, but also the condition of roads. “
Last week, the authorities said it was an exciting week for BSI, the main exporter of sugar here with the Federal Tiber vessel being loaded with over 49,000 tons of raw sugar for export to England.
“ It’s really not only historic for BSI, but for the country…and in a world where competitiveness is important when you’re talking about businesses, you have to make sure that you’re able to respond to the needs of your clients,” Neil said, adding “we have to make sure that we’re able to compete with other larger producers globally,” Neal said.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, Dr. Osmond Martinez, welcomed the developments saying :whenever we analyze the efficiencies and the effectiveness in terms of the supply chain and to be able to compete in the local, in the global market in this case to supply sugar is very important because the more we are able to export, that means that more competitive we are in terms of price.
“ And today, when you look at the global inflation. Global inflation which is affecting all consumers in the world being competitive in terms of price is very important.”
Industry officials said the total value of the export is BDZ$45 million which Martinez anticipates will directly impact Belize’s economy by reducing the country’s trade deficit.
“But it is also important to note that its contribution has a multiplier effect. And it is our hope that its contribution will not just be a one-time impact, but that it will have a wider impact. In terms of hope the money is circulating within Belize’s economy,” he added.
