After days, weeks, months and even years of deadlock, Prime Minister John Briceño said tonight that it came down to his telling both the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) and Belize Sugar Industries Limited/American Sugar Refining (BSI/ASR) to “sit in a room and not leave until we had an agreement."
There have been several false dawns since December 30, but tonight Breaking Belize News (BBN) can confirm that the standoff between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) and Belize Sugar Industries Limited/American Sugar Refining (BSI/ASR) is resolved.
The stand-off between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Associaton (BSCFA) and Belize Sugar Industries Limited/American Sugar Refining (BSI/ASR) appears to be at an end tonight, Thursday.
Recently appointed Lead Negotiator Hugh O’Brien, chief advisor to Minister of Agriculture Jose Mai, explained on Sunday following a long day of negotiations that while a “stalemate” has been reached with regard to a commercial agreement between Belize Sugar Industries Limited/American Sugar Refining (BSI/ASR) and Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA), that the parties came extremely close to reaching a commercial agreement.
Import white sugar, one of Belize’s most recognizable products at home and abroad? It seemed unthinkable, but then so did the idea that locally produced sugar was much more greatly valued in Guatemala and Mexico than at home – and that certain locals would shortchange the Belizean public to make maximum profits.