But first, we take you to Orange Walk for the arrival of the first cane trucks which marked the official start of the new season. Daniel Ortiz was there for it yesterday and he has that story:

Yesterday's "Zafra" did not include any of the usual ceremonies to mark the commencement of the sugar-making process.

For this 2021/2022 crop cycle, the mill simply opened up its compound and allowed the first few delivery trucks, on a pre-approved schedule, to off-load freshly cut and burnt sugar cane.

Shawn Chavarria - Director of Finance, ASR/BSI
"In terms of all of our preparations in getting the BELCOGEN power plant ready, the factory to start receiving cane, the boiling house to start receiving the sugar, we're ready, and we're pleased that all the stakeholders agreed to commence the crop today."

Vladimir Puck - Chairman, Corozal Sugar Cane Producers Association
"Our cane farmers have been awaiting this day, and I know they are very anxious. They called me last night, various groups. And they are willing to bring cane today."

Shawn Chavarria
"A schedule is organized by the Sugar Cane Production Committee."

So today, we have BSI's group is starting first, followed by the Progressive Sugar Cane Farmers Association, followed by the Northern Sugar Cane Farmers, then the Corozal, then the BSCFA. So, there is already a set schedule that was agreed [upon] before today's date.

Vladimir Puck
"Quality determines a lot in our pricing. The fresher the cane comes, the kill to mill time is of the essence for a very good quality of juice that will be collected, and we get paid off the sugar that is being extracted."

The deliveries commenced in an orderly fashion, but only a few days ago, the season's start was being held up by an impasse between the mill and the largest of the 4 cane farming associations. The situation became so tense that the Prime Minister and his team had to step in and encourage the two sides to find a way to focus instead on the bigger picture.

Shawn Chavarria
"The Prime Minister did intervene, had a high-level discussion with our principals from the group, and this was a way of trying to release some of the tension because what is important is really the start of the crop because there - from what we understand, there's going to be more cane than there was last year, and so, starting at the earliest possible time was critical, and we don't want to disadvantage anyone. In fact, we want to get going. And so, it was, in a sense, in the spirit of compromise to ensure that we minimize the financial losses for all the stakeholders, for the whole economy, that we agree to a 3-month extension to continue to have this discussion."

For the farmers, and especially those in the industry who were being impacted by an issue outside of their control, the deliveries are also a sigh of relief because they get to satisfy their commitments to their creditors.

Vladimir Puck
"Some months ago, when our colleagues from the BSCFA announced that they were planning to terminate their commercial agreement, the creditors did call us to have a view if we were planning to do the same or to move forward. They needed to have surety that they were going to be repaid by our cane farmers. So, as leaders, we had to quickly come to dialog and reason, and do whatever is needed for the benefit of our cane farmers."

The next challenge for the industry's productivity levels, at least for the next 4 weeks, is the mill's ability to operate at only 50% capacity. Only one of the boilers will be operational for the short term, and while it is receiving a much-needed upgrade, that reduction in daily output means that all farmers have to bear patience, instead of jostling for the opportunity to clear their fields as fast as possible. It's also why that week-long delay had farmers nervous.

Shawn Chavarria
"What - my understanding - has been done is that typically, a harvesting cycle is done on 7,000 tonnes of cane a day. So what they've done is split the groups in two. So, half delivers in 1 day, the next half will deliver in the next day, so that they maximize the load of the different transport units. So, it's certainly possible. We're doing it - if you notice, our trucks are not coming half-empty. They're coming full, and it's simply a matter of organizing yourselves to ensure that you're only cutting and delivering the cane that you deliver on a particular day."

Vladimir Puck
"This whole week that we had due to the impasse with our colleagues in the BSCFA, it affected us [by] X number of tonnes. We'll try to recover that, which is almost impossible, but I think at this moment, the starting of the crop was much essence. All our cane cutters - there were a lot of visits to our leaders, telling them that we need to start a crop because they're being affected through this impasse."

"The associations - the smallest associations and the miller, we have agreed to manage our own harvest and delivery, which is a huge step forward."

Multiple reports reaching 7News tonight is that the BSCFA refused to deliver cane as scheduled this afternoon. As viewers are aware, in the Prime Minister's letter to the leadership of ASR/BSI and the BSCFA for a truce, he proposed that the two sides should agree to extend their expiring contract from January 19th, 2022 to April 2022. That would give them more time to negotiate a new agreement without the deadline pressure.

Well, our newsroom understands that while the mill has agreed to that April extension, the BSCFA is urging for an extension all the way to August.

In a Christmas-Eve press release, the Association made that position clear when it said, quote, "...the BSCFA has expressed to the Prime Minister that it can only come to an agreement with BSI/ASR, on this interim agreement, if it contains a provision for an automatic extension of the expiry date from April 30, 2022, to August 1, 2022..."

The suggestion now is that they will not budge until they have heard back from the Prime Minister on their counter-proposal. It is unclear what effect this latest development will have on the season, but we'll be following it closely.