In our headline story last night, we told you about the perilous state that the country's largest rice producers find themselves in. The producers of Circle R and Uncle John's rice - which are responsible for a super-majority of the local rice produced in Belize are both reporting that their sales are down between 30 and 50% for this year.

As you saw in our story, they blame the Marketing Board, now known as the Belize Marketing Development Corporation.

They've made very specific allegations, so, for, the second time this week, we went to the boss at the BMDC Roque Mai to answer to those charges. For context. We'll buttress their claims against his responses:...

Peter Dyck, Managing Director - Hillbank Agric Co. Ltd.
"BMDC which is a statutory body is selling rice to the general public at 60 cents per pound wholesale meanwhile we are selling at 85 cents a pound and we just cannot reduce our prices any further because we have to pay full taxes on all our inputs that we grow and we have to pay full taxes on the product that we sell, which the BMDC all these taxes are avoided by them."

Roque Mai, BMDC
"We have promotional, like for Christmas we have promotions why we discount the price of rice. Belizeans are looking for promotions, if we give 10 cents discount on the promotion basis people are looking for that and whilst the mennonites can do the same because it's an open market. They can do it."

Jules Vasquez
"But they can't afford to do it."

Roque Mai, BMDC
"Why they can't afford to do it?"

Jules Vasquez
"Because they are not subsidized."

Roque Mai, BMDC
"They have their own ways of doing it, they are producers. Why would you say we are subsidized?"

Jules Vasquez
"Because I am saying, you pay them an above market value for their rice. You don't pay them what it actually is valued."

Roque Mai, BMDC
"Perfect."

Jules Vasquez
"So then we is the BMDC having such an adverse effect on the market? Do you feel that they are selling more than just rice from the Toledo District?"

Peter Dyck
"Yes they are selling more rice just from the Toledo District."

Jules Vasquez
"That's a heck of an assertion because it would be working against the interest of the local farmers."

Peter Dyck
"Absolutely. I have been in contact with the mill in Punta Gorda and several months ago they were telling me that have been selling more than 100 bags of 100 pounds rice which would be 10,000 pounds of rice a month for months at a time and the BMDC yet is out there selling lots of rice. We have a question to where is all that rice coming from."

Roque Mai, BMDC
"A lot of the rice is coming in from through the north. We have challenges coming through the north, through Union, Botes, that rice are coming in and we have challenges and this year we have challenges as well, but like I said Jules we are facing a challenge as well to market our product. It's not that we are being subsidize is the case. But this year coming we told the farmers that we can't pay 39 cents a pound for rice. The minimum we pay is around 28 cents a pound for paddy. So looking as well in next year we can also give promotions as well. But alleging that we are undermining the mennonite farmers - I don't go for that."

Jules Vasquez
"You are under selling them though with the promotions?"

Roque Mai, BMDC
"Well promotions, you can do Christmas promotions."

Jules Vasquez
"You are doing a promotion every month they say."

Roque Mai, BMDC
"No, I won't go for that."

Jules Vasquez
"OK fair enough."

Edward Reimer, Owner _ Mayan Pearl Rice
"We know the market is taken up by a different source of rice."

Jules Vasquez
"So you know that there is imported rice selling locally?"

Edward Reime
"Always and most of the times that it's been caught it's been already bagged in marketing board bags and customs has a hard time to prove except for the empty sacks from somewhere."

Jules Vasquez
"But that is a high level of complexity you are asserting. That's almost criminal complicity if you are saying marketing board is re-bagging imported rice. That's crazy."

Edward Reime
"This is not the first time that it's happening."

Jules Vasquez
"They insist that you all that your office if not central here the one in Orange Walk or the one in Cayo is somehow responsible for introducing foreign rice onto the market."

Roque Mai, BMDC
"For transparency, I will not stand for that, Its BMDC and I manage BMDC and I overlook them day to day and reports are sent in and really in truth it is very unethical to say that because looking at it why would we have to sell Uruguayan rice."

Stanley Rempel, Manager, CIRCLE R Products
"Our salesmen have seen the guys in green selling this rice. We have seen it and we know."

Jules Vasquez
"The guys in green are BMDC?"

Stanley Rempel
"Yes."

Jules Vasquez
"Which rice are they selling?"

Stanley Rempel
"The Uruguayan rice."

Jules Vasquez
"In the Uruguayan sacks?"

Stanley Rempel
"Yes, my reports are that they have seen the same quality, the same rice in the marketing board bags."

Jules Vasquez
"How many employees does the BMDC have?"

Roque Mai, BMDC
"About 36."

Jules Vasquez
"You know you can't be by their side all day. Maybe one or two of them have made side arrangements and are acting in a corrupt fashion. Is that possible?"

Roque Mai, BMDC
"No that's not possible."

Jules Vasquez
"It's possible but it's not likely?"

Roque Mai, BMDC
"I really monitor them very strictly."

Jules Vasquez
"But you can't be everywhere all the time Mr. Mai."

Roque Mai, BMDC
"I know but I won't take that allegation."

Jules Vasquez
"What then is to account for the sharp falloff in sales? Hillbank showed me their sales figures; I have it in the vehicle there. It is down 50% throughout this year. 30% - 50% depending on the month. But it's down so sharply. Circle R says theirs is down as well. Everybody says they are selling half of what they were selling. Something has had to have happen."

Roque Mai, BMDC
"I can stand as it right now. I can't speak on their behalf but I can speak on behalf of BMDC, still we have some big business and they prefer their rice rather than our rice, they would buy minimal of ours but we have customers who prefer our rice. Not everybody in Belize are rich, so there are people who prefer our rice, people are trying to pinch their dollar."

Jules Vasquez
"Are your sales at BMDC are up?"

Roque Mai, BMDC
"Like I said last month drastically it went down."

Jules Vasquez
"So if your sales are down and their sales are down then obviously there is phantom rice on the market that people are buying. It's not like people have stop eating rice."

Roque Mai, BMDC
"Our counterparts in Mexico are saying that rice is coming through. Not through the border but all the little areas like Botes etc., but who is bringing it in? I don't know. But yes rice is going through."

And while the status quo remains on the surface, we know that some political undercurrents are pulling at the power structure. Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega and UDP standard bearer for that area Chendo Urbina went to Blue Creek last night to meet with the community. And Mai today told us he was being called to an emergency meeting at the Ministry of agriculture in Belmopan.

Channel 7