Belize Agriculture Minister agrees with an increase in prices for sugar and molasses
Belize’s Agriculture Minister Jose Abelardo Mai supports a sugar price increase, noting the country has the region’s lowest sugar prices and low per capita consumption, minimizing public impact. He also backs raising molasses prices, citing both economic and social benefits. However, he dismissed farmers’ demands for higher electricity rates from bagasse, calling the proposal a non-starter.
While the public might frown upon the idea of a price increase for sugar, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise, Jose Abelardo Mai, says he supports the idea. Mai, who is a cane farmer himself and a member of the BSCFA says that a price increase alone would not save the sugar industry, but it would certainly help. He told our newsroom that there are various considerations being made as the government looks carefully at the issue. This includes the fact that Belize has the lowest price of sugar in the region and that the impact of the increase on the public would be minimal.
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture: “The price of sugar we in the region have the cheapest sugar. Of all the producing countries of sugar we have the cheapest sugar. In Guatemala it’s three times the price, in Mexico it’s three times the price. So I believe that something ca be don there and moreover the per capita consumption of sugar is relatively low in Belize right ? It means that if you increase the price of sugar nobody would get impoverished. No-one would suffer because the prices have gone up. It’s not a major increase anyway and the consumption per capita is low. And secondly we have to be health conscious right ? Maybe the little increase in price in sugar will allow Belizeans to eat less sugar which we should because of our obesity problems and health problems. So that I believe can be done also now. It has to be well structured because there are people who use sugar for industrial purposes like the bread makers So if you raise the price of sugar then the bread makers will say but I need to raise the price of bread. So there has to be a very well structured increase in the price of sugar. You have people like Bowen and Bowen that do for drinks. That has t be a different, that’s what we considered, that’s a different price than sugar sold in a hundred pound bag right ? And so and it has to also be structured around the transportation. If you transport sugar all the way to Toledo it cannot be at the same price as in Orange Walk and so we have been thinking a long time how we can do this and not….and it can be done transparently and it can be done fairly right ? And so that is where we are right now studying that carefully.”
With respect to the farmers’ proposal for a molasses price increase, Mai fully supports the idea. He noted that raising the price of derivatives for making rum would have added social benefits.
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture: “Basing the request on the Commission of Inquiry. The Commission of Inquiry was done by professionals, by experts in field of sugarcane production and sugarcane processing. And many of them have much experience in the processing and managing of factories so they know what products are manufactured, they know what the costs are, they know what the derivatives are, they know what the byproducts are, what the costs are. And so when they look at the price we sell molasses for making rum making in Belize, right, it is a lot cheaper than any other parts of the world. And so they’re saying, this is where I believe we can increase. Secondly, Belize has a problem with cheap alcohol, cheap rum which is destroying the families and we’ve heard that cry over and over in cabinets. And it’s true by increasing the price of molasses used from rum making or increasing the price of on alcohol then that would probably make that product a little bit more expensive and who would pay for it? Those who wish to drink rum. Right? And so I think that that is the lowest hanging fruit, to me. I think I can be achieved.’
Mai says that he is optimistic that the increase in sugar can be implemented within the year, if there is political will. However, the increase on molasses would have to be worked out between Belize Suar Industries and the farmers. As for the farmers’ demands on increasing the price of electricity generation from the bagasse, Minister Mai was not in agreement and refers to the recommendation as a non-starter.
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Source : Love FM
