Cane Farmers Say BSI Must Sign to Bagasse Agreement Or "No Season!"
This weekend, Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association hosted an emergency general meeting to ask the farmers if they agree to the compromise hammered out by Prime Minister Dean Barrow.
As we told you last week, Barrow got BSI/ASR to change its position somewhat, agreeing in principle that the farmers should be paid for bagasse.
Still, there's no happily ever after, because there are still many sticking points in the letter BSI sent to the PM.
That letter was taken to the emergency meeting yesterday at Escuela Secundaria Tecnica Mexico in San Roman Village, Corozal, and 7news attended. Daniel Ortiz got a chance to gauge the reactions of the farmers; here's his report.
FILE: December 11, 2013
Hon. Dean Barrow
"We are preparing to start the negotiation between the BSCFA and B.S.I., which negotiations will proceed on the basis that the payment of which bagasse is due, but that of course quantum must be agreed."
Daniel Ortiz reporting
But while an agreement for payment in principle sounds good, the mandate coming from the cane farmers at yesterday's emergency general meeting is that BSI must sign a binding contract saying that they will make a payment for bagasse, or else.
Daniel Ortiz
"Will the farmers deliver the cane based on today's meeting, will that happen?"
Alfredo Ortega - Vice-Chair: BSCFA
"Deliveries will happen once and for all we sign a bargaining agreement with BSI that yes they will be paying the farmers for the bagasse. Then once we can sign that and we have that as a binding agreement then we can negotiate for the start of a new crop. If there is no signing of anything that will bind that yes there will be a payment for the farmers, because yes they have accepted right now, but what they have accepted is a letter sent to the Prime Minister not to us (BSCFA), so when we meet with them in our negotiation - that is something that the farmers has placed on our shoulders again. They have reiterated once more that for any other issue that needs to be dealt with in regards to a start of crop, we need to have a signed commitment between BSI and BSCFA that a payment will be done for bagasse."
Daniel Ortiz
"You suspect that this issue, this binding agreement based on the change in position and from the intervention of the Prime Minister that that binding agreement will be just a formality at the next meeting. Do you truly believe that?"
Alfredo Ortega
"We hope that that will happen because if that doesn't happen, we have a mandate from the farmers and we have to respect the mandate of the farmers. The mandate of the farmers is what we will be signing to the Prime Minister, so that he will have this dialogue with BSI people, so that we can meet."
And so, while they try to work out the dispute about the bagasse, there are two immediate issues with the letter addressed to Prime Minister Barrow. The farmers don't agree with the point number 2.
Their interpretation is that BSI is trying to block any discussion about future bi-products which could emerge from sugar cane, apart from those already known to be profitable.
Alfredo Ortega
"In regards to point #2 where t says "payment would finally resolve payment for bi-product under the memorandum of agreement." We quite well understand where they want to go in that area that this should be the final and they have it clear in the letter that once they pay us for the bagasse that should be the final for asking for any payment for any other bi-product."
"The interpretation is that BSI wants that once and for all once we agree on a price for the bagasse that that should be the final request for the farmers for any other bi-product that can generate economic value. This is the areas as how they have mentioned in two different press releases that they took out that the cane brings a bundle of things. They mentioned in their press release that the cane comes with water, sugar, molasses, mud, fiber and they said etcetera. That means that the cane comes with different thing and those are the things that we are looking forward that in the event there is another product apart from the three that we are negotiating with them that can generate economic value that farmers should participate also. Those are the areas that they are saying no, they don't want to talk anymore about that."
The next issue is point number 3, to "clarify ownership of cane and all its components upon delivery to the mill" They say that there is no need to clarify ownership; the farmers own the cane, even after it is delivered.?
Alfredo Ortega
"They want to negotiate with us to see the ownership in regards to the sugarcane once it's received by the mill and that's another area that the farmers say no because they are not buying cane from us. As you have heard even in the press conference that BSI had and in different press release that they took out, they say that they buy the cane from the farmers, so they are the owners of whatsoever comes form that cane. We as farmers are saying no, they are not buying cane from us because we share the risks, the losses. The farmers are saying that they are not buying our cane that they are just supplying you with the cane and they (BSI) are paying us. Now, if you want to continue with that same system then we as farmers should put price on our cane instead of BSI pricing our cane."
Daniel Ortiz
"That's a huge point of contention. How do you think they will received that difference of opinion there?"
Alfredo Ortega
"I cannot say on their part. I am speaking as vice chairman of the association on behalf of the farmers. What will be BSI's reaction, I don't know. We will see it whenever we meet on the roundtable."
The cane farmers have a proposed date for parties to meet on Thursday. One of the resolutions at yesterday's meeting is that the farmers are expecting a favourable negotiation, and if that doesn't happen, then the cane deliveries won't start.
Later, we'll have more from the sugar belt as we take you into a cane field to show you how water logged it is.
Sugar Season Can't Start!: Cane Fields Are Waterlogged
At the top of our newscast, we showed you the latest coming out of this weekend's general meeting on the ongoing bagasse dispute. The reality is, however, that even if there was not an impasse between the factory owners and the cane farmers, they couldn't start the crop season - even if they wanted to!
And that's because of the rain. In November alone, Orange Walk and Corozal experienced rainfall that was almost 200 percent more than the 30 year average. That's like the difference between one cup and three cups!
This weekend, we also got an opportunity to see first-hand the damage that the rains have caused to this year's crop. Daniel Ortiz has that story:
Daniel Ortiz reporting
These fully mature stalks of cane look ready to harvest and deliver to the mill to be grounded for sugar extraction.
But the truth is that they are nowhere near ready. The cane has been saturated for weeks on end, soaking up all the flood waters from the rains over the last few months. Because of this, they don't meet the standards set for sucrose purity, and if they were to be delivered now, the farmers would be operating at a loss.
Leocaido Javier Keme, Cane Farmer
"Obviously, these canes have been under stressed absorbing water from weeks I could say and even though you can see the cane has the height it looks as if it is ready, but if you test it, if will give you maybe 65%-70% of purity. Even though it looks ready for harvest - in other areas this would be ready for harvest."
Javier Blanco - Chemist Representing Cane Farmers
"Close to 70% of the content of the cane itself is part water, so in a humid environment, when we have a lot of rain the cane by nature absorbs water that is in the ground and if there is a lot of water then that sugar that is inside the stalk itself is diluted and it means that farmers is going to be transporting much more water during these rainy season and the content of sugar in itself is diluted. In that sense more cane is going to be used to get 1 ton of sugar."
How much is that loss? Well the chemist says that they will have to grind 50% more cane to get the same sugar content they would have gotten if the sucrose purity were up to the standards. That's a major waste for the farmers.
Javier Blanco - Chemist Representing Cane Farmers
"For example, we have done evaluations throughout the entire region and we have done a calculation of the theoretical sugar that we should be getting if in case we have been harvesting. It is very close to 16 tons of cane to 1 ton of sugar. That means that we were expecting 10 tons of cane to 1 ton of sugar - a TCTS of 10 going to 5 that means 5 more. Doing a direct ration and proportion to the price we have - it would represent that more or less instead of $72 for these tons that we have. If we would go to harvest, it will represent close to $48. Farmers are going to be operating in a sense of loss because weather conditions would cost much more the harvesting of that same tonnage and plus they are going to take out less sugar in that same tonnage."
Another challenge for the farmers are very poor conditions of the sugar roads. These roads, like the rest of the country, have been taking a beating from the excessive rains.
It's dangerous to try to cross over them, and if they try to come through with heavy equipment, they will get worse. The farmers are hoping that Government fixes them sometime soon.
Leocaido Javier Keme, Cane Farmer
"As you can see, you can take a good look on the sugar roads; these are the feeder roads that connect - bring the cane from to farm to the main roads. These sugar roads are in deplorable conditions. It is very difficult, it's really under water right now and it will really take a good 2-3 weeks so that we can work - to say that we can take out some product from there."
Prime Minister Dean Barrow has said that he will make paving the sugar roads a priority if the farmers agree to deliver the cane.
The farmers say that Government should act no matter what happens with the bagasse dispute because when it is settled, the road works will slow the cane delivery.
Leocaido Javier Keme, Cane Farmer
"It is very important: 1.) because we have to acknowledge that it cannot be done in 1, 2 or 3 days. It will take weeks, so it is very important that it is address as soon as the weather can permit in one or two days of sun dry that they can work. They should take good advantage of that opportunity. Because as you can see the weather is not promising that that it's going to be sunny to let the work be done."
And while that's the advice for Prime Minister, the chemist also had advice for the farmers. He said that there needs to be deadline to start, no matter what the challenges are, or their investment will be at risk.
Javier Blanco - Chemist Representing Cane Farmers
"At the end of December to beginning to January regardless of weather conditions in a sense, we need to start the crop because it means that the crop itself will be extended and it will go into the rainy seasons."
Ideally, the farmers want to deliver cane that has a sucrose purity of 81%. That would allow them to grind 10 tonnes of cane to produce 1 tonne of sugar. It is forecasted that with that purity, the 1.15 million tonnes of cane could be milled to produce 115,000 tonnes of sugar for 2014. Tests will be done later this week to determine how close the sucrose levels are to that 81%.
Channel 7