There was no butane strike today and there won't be one in the foreseeable future. That's because the Liquid Petroleum Gas importers had a productive meeting with government today where a regime for managing the industry was agreed upon.
The proposal was outlined by the importers at a press conference this afternoon in Belize City. Basically, the agreement is that BNE will be allowed to sell inexpensive, locally produced butane on the open market - but its butane - and everyone else's will be rated in different grades. The higher the grade, the higher the cost and the consumer can choose which he or she prefers.
Here's the outline of the proposal and why the Importers are pleased.
Israel Manzanilla, Western Gas
"We are looking for something like what we currently have in Belize with the fuel where we have premium, regular and super so this has been the proposal from government and the importers are very pleased with this information. Given this the decision to shut down has been called off."
Mike Reyes, Belize Gas Company
"We are saying they are bringing experts that are going to be reviewing the different types of gas and then they are going to be rating them and they are going to be rating them like: regular, super whatever and then as you bring it and you rate it they are going to also be given a price so if you bring Mexican gas compared to the Venezuelan, they will say ok you bought it at $2.00, we have a control price, you can only sell it at $3.00 or $2.50 so then the consumer will say Ok i want to buy that gas for $2.50 knowing that it is an inferior product or I want to buy this one for $4.50 knowing that it's a better product. Now it's our responsibility to tell the consumer 'ok, these are the differences with that product, this one will affect A,B,C and D. You might think it's cheaper but this I think you should look for, you want to buy one that will last you longer and this is what it will do. You look at the benefits and you choose.' So that's where the government pretty much stood and we say well we think that is fair enough because what we need is that the general public is aware of what they are buying."
Roque Reyes, Western Gas
"This way the consumer can get a just gas for their money. in other words they have a choice of 4 things. I get gas from Mexico for 28 years I've been getting the consistent mixture."
Mike Reyes, Belize Gas Company
"We are happy that the government is trying to find a solution. They say ok, 'If you guys choose to import this quality, we will rate it at this quality, you let the people know this is it.' They are proposing to buy an equipment where they will be testing these products, where they will say, 'You say you are bringing 70/30 and they test it and if it's not that, they will shut them down. So they are looking at all these things that they are proposing. Yes get stringent; we want the best for our people."
Notably BWEL - the country's single largest importer and supplier was not there. They have reportedly used BNE butane in the past and mixed it with imported product.
The butane sold in Belize - with the exception of BNE's local mix - is imported from Mexico and Central America.
But for these importers -some of whom are subsidiaries of regional LPG companies - that BNE butane is an unacceptable product because they say it is not fully refined, and BNE getting into the market is also unacceptable.
Rogue Reyes, Belize Gas Company
"What is happening is that people don't know when they buy this product and their tank lasts less and their stoves begin to rot a lot faster, the regulator get mess up...I mean it's unacceptable gas, actually what we are saying that we are not against BNE, we are saying that we have certification from our suppliers where we can come and say look this is the product we are getting, this is the proof. If something happens, we are responsible for that. When I try to buy from BNE the first time, the first thing I ask, can I see your certification? what kind of gas are you selling me? i could see none, so I refuse to buy the product and when we see a producing company coming up in the market thinking they are this giant because they produce. To begin with I ask them how could a producer enter a market against importers who have been here for 20 years, invested multimillion of dollars, hiring over 600-700 people and nobody is saying anything, plus the product we know is not a product that should be out on the market."
We note that their view differs sharply from BNE's pitch man Daniel Guttierez who has been on the news saying that the BNE butane is a, quote, "far better product" and that is it has a quote, "higher butane content than the products out there…and it burns hotter, (lasts) longer, and it is safer to store and handle."
Presently, a 100 pound cylinder of BNE butane retails for 44 dollars less than a cylinder of imported butane.
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