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The Mexican cartel - comprising companies like Belize Western Energy Limited, Gas Tomza, ZETA Gas and Southern Choice Butane currently handle the wholesale and retail, distribution, supply, and importation. They have jointly rejected the new model. They say that it will put them out of business and leave their 350 employees jobless. They wrote to the Prime Minister on September 17th requesting an urgent meeting and they got it this morning. The media was there when they left the Prime Minister's office at a few minutes to 12:00 - and they were guarded in their comments after the one hour meeting:

Ernesto Uh - Representative, Local LPG Companies
"This is our first meeting with the Prime Minister in regards to the New National Liquefied Petroleum Gas Project. We will be having other meetings, further along with him. This is just a first to get the first feedback on this project."

"Right now, we just got the information on the project itself. We have many concerns, but we will further discuss that as we progress further on."

Reporter
"Is it a concern for your companies that you all are probably going to be changed from being wholesalers to probably just gas depots?"

Ernesto Uh
"Well right now, our concern is just to talk it over with different from the different ministries and then, and then we'll iron it. As I said, it's a developing story, and we'll let you know how it goes."

And while they didn't have much to say - the Prime Minister said a whole lot. He stressed that these companies will be able to bid for the contract to import the butane - but the prices have to be lower:..

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister
"As things now stand, the current companies do the importation as well as the retail. And, we've had our problems in the past in terms of maybe a divergence of view between themselves and the supplies control office and the Ministry of Trade as to the fairness of the importation prices. With the National Gas Company, of which the Government is a 25% shareholder, their exclusivity is confined to the sourcing of the butane. That way we control the pricing, and we know that nobody can give us figures that are perhaps questionable. But, the actual transportation of the LPG is to be done, not by the National Gas Company. In effect, what the National Gas Company will do is to invite people to bid. You tell me - and first preference will be given to the current companies, the current operators. You tell me at what price you can bring in the LPG that's needed, landed at Big Creek, and we will see if there are others that can bring it in cheaper. We want to be sure that the prices at which the LPG is landed is going to be cheaper than the price at which currently the operators are bringing it in."

"That will then ultimately transfer or translate into cheaper prices for the consumer because you will be able to wholesale for less than currently the case with those that are bringing in the LPG. But, I repeat that the current operators will get a chance to bid to be among those that in fact will help the National Gas Company to source, if not source, to transport the LPG to Belize."

"The retailers will continue to these people who are currently operating, and who have the infrastructure."

"The Supplies Control Department will be able to say, ahh, well we know now that in fact, the wholesale price is so much, because we, as part of the National Gas Company control that pricing. You can't tell us that it is price a, when we think that it is price b, but we can't prove that you are wrong, and that we are right. Now, as the people who control the importation, we know what the proper wholesale price will be."

"They said they weren't aware of the extent of the role they are still expected to play. I suggested to them, but Lord, this thing has gone to the House. It was in the news. There were House Committee Meetings. You had every opportunity to go and make presentations. But, they still said that there was a degree of ignorance on their part. I also thought that Mr. Cantun had certainly had discussions with at least one of the operators, and that was confirmed, but the other said that the discussions didn't inform them, and the guy, the one with whom the discussions took place, said he wasn't satisfied that it was a formal meeting. What's going to happen now, we're going to put them together, the existing and the new, so that the role of the existing in terms of still being able to be significant operators on the whole process can be underlined."

The position as explained by the Prime Minister were also detailed in a widely circulated press release from the National Gas Company a few weeks ago, so we'd have to assume that the lack of understanding by the cartel is deliberate - because what they really want is to preserve the status quo.