It's been about 7 months now that Belize's sugar industry has been operating without preferential access to the European market, which means competing on the same level playing field as the rest of the world.
So now European beet sugar farmers compete head to head with Belize and the other African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
And the news tonight is that current world prices are already down by half of what they were just last year. We got a chance to speak with one of BSI/ASR's representatives about it at another event, and here's what she had to say:
Olivia Avilez - Cane Farmer Relations, BSI
"Well last year we were enjoying prices of 21 cents a pound in terms of global sugar prices. We get an average of the full crops' prices as they fluctuate. Last year we were looking at 21 cents a pound. This year when we started this crop we were looking at around 14 cents a pound and it has been coming down. If you google into the sugar organization website. You will see that sugar prices are down to 11 cents. That has a major impact on production, capacities, production costs and returns."
Reporter
"Do you think that we should prepare ourselves for lower prices in years to come?"
Olivia Avilez - Cane Farmer Relations, BSI
"Well I'm not an expert in the area but what we've seen is that there is a surplus of sugar in the world and that is what is driving down the prices even below what the experts and forecasters were looking at. We're monitoring that and at the moment, looking at different strategies, not only the factory but in the field, this one for example, quality is a main parameter in pricing. Definitely trying to assist farmers with some of the technologies that we have learnt."
But, as we've been telling you those whose livelihoods depend on the sustainability of the sugar industry have been bracing for these hard times from since 2013. Later on in the news, we'll show you how the cane farmers are trying to be more efficient by maximizing the purity of the cane they are delivering to the mill.
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