7 News Belize

GOB Says Santander Was Given Cease & Desist
posted (May 29, 2018)
Last night we told you about the uproar amongst cane farmers in the north after the learned that Santander - which is an export company - was selling sugar on the local market.

Today the Ministry of Trade and Commerce sent out a statement saying Santander has admitted to selling 750 metric tons to one local distributor. They did that without any permit to do so, and the Ministry has asked the Customs Department to, quote, "determine a means to clear the local market from the sugar that had been supplied by Santander." End quote.

The Ministry says it gave Santander a cease and desist letter on May 24th, after ti confirmed that it was selling locally. Quote, "This cease and desist letter indicated that the company was in clear violation of the EPZ Act and contrary to what they had been authorized under their Certificate of Compliance." End quote.

Santander has since applied for a waiver - and they tell us they want to supply 1,500 metric tonnes of brown sugar and 3,500 metric tonnes of white sugar - which is 30% of local consumption.

To date, no waivers or permits have been provided to Santander by the Government. THE Ministry says it's considering Santander's application to sell sugar locally, and is consulting with the Ministry of Agriculture and other stakeholders. We note that that grower associations in the north say they haven't been consulted yet.

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