Last September the Belize Sugar Industry broke ground on a new project designed to increase the production of high quality, direct consumption sugars. The company invested $22 million new equipment and storage facilities as well as to diversify the types of sugar it produces. Today the first and main phase of this project has been just about completed, so went to the sugar factory in Orange Walk to take a tour of the facility and find out more about these new investments...
As one of the country's largest and most lucrative exports, the sugar industry is integral to the strength of the economy and to the livelihoods of thousands of Belizeans. Traditionally, Belizean sugar has been sent to the European Union to be refined and sold, but this all changed late last year when changes in European regulations sent the global market reeling…
Mac McLachlan - VP of International Relations, ASR
"Last year in October the European Union sugar regime changed and constraints on the production of beet sugar were removed and that meant that beet sugar producers were able to produce as much sugar as they wished. This they duly did and overnight the EU switched from becoming an import to an export market of sugar to tune of something like 4 million tons of sugar. As a net result of that any preference in pricing, the Caribbean in particular ACP countries have enjoyed in the past disappeared overnight."
In response to these changes the Belize Sugar Industry has invested in new technologies that will allow them to produce Direct Consumption sugars, which don't need additional refining and can be sold at higher prices...
Mac McLachlan
"The reason these sugars are value added, higher value products, they don't need to be refined again, they are high quality sugars which will go from here into the export market, straight onto the table, packaged and onto the table. As a result we get a higher value for those sugars. Our plans are continue to looking at further expansion in that area as we move forward."
Now as the European market becomes more and more saturated BSI is looking to CARICOM, however there are some regulations preventing this from immediately happening. Because of quality control tariffs put in place CARICOM nations have not been able to sell their sugar within the region, but now that BSI can produce large quantities of direct consumption sugars they are trying to open up the market…
Mac McLachlan
"What we're trying to do and we are working closely with the government, we're working closely with the governments of Jamaica, Guyana and Barbados other sugar producers is to demonstrate through things like investment we're making here that we are now in a position to provide adequate sugar at the right quality and the right standards for that market and we are therefore suggesting that it might be time to look at within the tariffs structures in CARICOM to permit us to utilize our sugar in the market."
The new machinery will also allow BSI to take in large quantities of cane and refine more for export. Because these direct consumption sugars can be sold at premium prices Belizean cane farmers should also see a cut of the increased profits thanks to the Value Share Agreement.
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