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The sugar cane industry of Belize has endured many challenges in the past and has been a solid socio-economic engine for northern Belize and the country. Historically, and even today, we continue to depend heavily on the European Union market access for the survival and resiliency of our sugar industry. But with the on-going dispute between BSI and BSCFA on the revenue profit sharing of sales generated by the Bio Fuel better known as the bagasse, the industry is at risk.

While this issue has been making headlines for quite some time now, it is anyone's guess if and when the parties involved will find common ground. What is of concern to others is the economic downfall that can potentially harm the industry and Belize on a whole. Some fear that if the 2013/2014 crop season is delayed, the effects would be disastrous.

David Acosta - Retired principal.

"En el nivel econ�mico, el aspecto econ�mico ser�a algo negativo pero yo estoy 100% apoyando a los caneros en el sentido que si van a conseguir algo, van hacer m�s participes en la econom�a que les da su producci�n, entonces es necesario que BSI les pague para el bagazo porque es un bi-product, tienen un de acuerdo desde el 2002 a donde una clausula lo menciona entonces all� los caneros tienen una base y yo lo que quisiera decirle a los caneos y al pueblo de Belice a Corozal y a Orange Walk es de que para todo bien que va venir es necesario un sacrificio y si los caneros est�n peleando para un beneficio para el pueblo del norte entonces tiene que haber sacrificio."

With the Sugar Industry being one of the back bones of the Belizean economy and the main revenue earner for the north a dispute between Belize Sugar Industries Limited and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association only spells but one word, trouble.

David Acosta - Retired principal.

"El distrito de Corozal y Orange Walk dependen de la az�car porque mete bastante divisa, no solo para Corozal y Orange Walk sino para el pa�s entero entonces se sentir�a en las bolsas de los caneros y el pueblo de Corozal, negativamente ese ser�a el impacto a la econom�a directa a Corozal y Orange Walk. De darse un parro como lo est�n mencionando entonces naturalmente habr�a unos escases de az�car, el precio de az�car subir�a, ser�a un poquito m�s carro pienso yo pero vuelvo a decir, el pueblo tiene que entender que para cualquier bien o bien estar que estamos buscando para los caneros tiene que haber este sacrificio."

And in a larger scale, the absence of a sugar industry means a decrease in foreign exchange earnings which translate to a reduction in our ability to pay for import. For many of us, finding common ground and resolving the issue is of utmost importance as the livelihoods and future of thousands are at stake.

CTV3


Video: Yo Creek (Belize) Hand Planting Sugar Cane, Part I, 1min.
Thanks to Gabriella Locke who took the video on June 11, 2013.

Video: Yo Creek (Belize) Hand Planting Sugar Cane, Part II, 1min.

Video: Yo Creek (Belize) Preparing Sugar Cane to Eat, 1min.

Video: Harvesting Sugarcane, Orange Walk, Belize, 1min.
Farmers harvesting sugarcane north of Orange Walk Town, Belize, on June 8, 2014

Video: Crab Loading Sugarcane on Truck, Orange Walk, Belize, 3min.
Students aboard a crab loading sugarcane on a truck north of Orange Walk Town, Belize, on June 8, 2014

Belize 2014 X from Simon Rawles on Vimeo.

Video: Fairtrade in Belize

In the cane fields and social projects in the villages. Interviews with Alfredo Ortega, Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, Mauricio Mejia, WWF Agriculture Programme Officer, and cane farmers. Technical assistance for cane farmers, better pest control. Learning to work a different way.

Video: Sugar Cane Factory Tour, Belize, 11min.
Sugar cane factory tour in Orange Walk Town, Belize, on June 14, 2014

Video: Sugar Cane Field Fire, Belize, 2min.
Sugar cane field fire before harvest near San Lazaro, Belize, on June 19, 2014.


When is the Cane Mature and ready to Harvest?

Use a refractometer to determine maturity index of sugar cane. When the brix of the top is equal or close to the brix of the bottom it is ready to harvest. Anything equal to or above 85% maturity index is ready to harvest. Courtesy: BSI/ASR


Europe Is Waving Goodbye to Sugar Cane

Europeans' taste for sugar transformed the world.

West Indies plantations built from the 17th century to feed demand drove a nexus of commerce, capital and manufacturing that fomented the industrial revolution and modern financial markets.

More than three hundred years later, Europe is set to deliver a crippling blow to a trade that once made up almost a fifth of its entire imports, and has sustained developing-country sugar cane farmers since.

The European Union's decision to remove limits on its own beet-sugar output from October means less demand for cane growers from Jamaica in the Caribbean, to the Pacific island of Fiji, and Swaziland in southern Africa.

"Within a decade or so, I can see the EU market for raw sugar from the Caribbean being all but a matter of history," said David Jessop, an adviser to companies and governments on trade and investment in the region. "The challenge from the Caribbean perspective is what they can do, if anything, to ensure the future of their industry."

Jamaica, Belize and Mauritius were among a group of more than 10 nations that benefited from quota- and duty-free access for 1.6 million metric tons of mostly raw-sugar shipments to the EU in 2015-16. The amount, which can vary year-by-year, represented about half the European bloc's imports of the commodity.

While the countries will retain those privileges, their high-cost cane plantations may struggle to compete against EU beet farmers who are boosting yields and increasing scale. European output may expand by about 17 percent to more than 20 million tons and imports sink by about half with the changes, Rabobank says.

Click for the rest of the article in Bloomberg News

EU Says Goodbye To Sugar Cane

Belize along with various other countries who belong to the European Union's preferential market are now bracing for direct competition following the recent EU reform on world sugar prices. In view of the introduction of beet sugar in Europe, Belize will no longer enjoy the preferential rates on sugar it has experienced in the past, thus, a reduction in prices of the sweetener is inevitable for Belizean cane farmers.

While Belize will continue to benefit from quota- and duty-free access for 1.6 million metric tons of mostly raw-sugar shipments to the EU, Belizean Sugar which stands among the highest production costs may struggle to compete against EU beet farmers who are boosting yields and increasing scale. And with eighty percent of Belizean produced sugar exporting to the EU the market is in no doubt facing troubling times. In a report analysis issued by the European page "BloombergMarkets", Gerald Mason, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at London-based refiner Tate & Lyle Sugars, is quoted as saying "It's not that we want to leave those suppliers behind, but if Europe has made the white sugar market really competitive, we have to have access to more competitive supplies."

Under the EU, Belize is considered a market with limited alternatives and high production cost. Changes in world prices and the pressure to compete with other sugar producers can have a heavy impact on BSI/ASR, cane farmers and the economy of Belize.

Over the past years, Belize has become very dependent on sugar exports and reforms such as this can result in a deep dent on the sugar industry's future. At the start of the 2016-2017 Sugar cane crop season back in December of last year Vice President of International Relations for ASR, Mac McLachlan, spoke of the changes that need to be done to ensure that Belize remains competitive in the new market which includes lowering the cost of production significantly which means that farmers need to start increasing productivity if they are to remain competitive in the industry. David Jessop, an adviser to companies and governments on trade and investment in the region is quoted as saying "Within a decade or so, I can see the EU market for raw sugar from the Caribbean being all but a matter of history". The challenge from the Caribbean perspective, says Jessop, is what they can do, if anything, to ensure the future of their industry."

Prepared or not come, October 2017, the quotas that have always been a constraint for beet sugar will be lifted and beet sugar producers will be free to produce as much sugar as they like in the European Market. "It'll be very much a question of the survival of the fittest," said Devesh Dukhira, Chief Executive Officer of the Mauritius Sugar Syndicate, representing growers. The question now is, if Belize can survive the fierce competition that is to come.

Caribbean nations are expected to meet in Kingston, Jamaica, this month to discuss the "existential threats" to the industry.

CTV3


This is how the juice from the sugar cane is extracted... Maya day, Blue Creek

EU, Sugar and Impacts on Belize

Two weeks ago we brought you the story on the possible effects that our local sugarcane farmers could face due to the European Union's decision to remove limits on its own beet-sugar output. That decision was made some five years ago and is slated to take effect in October. With that decision in place, Belize and other exporting nations could face a serious hit on its sugar industry as the demand for the commodity will more than likely decrease. Agriculture's Chief Executive Officer, Jose Alpuche spoke to Love News on how the Government is moving in addressing this concern.

JOSE ALPUCHE

"Well first and foremost the decision was not recently made this was made well over five years ago and we knew that 2017 would come upon us the October 2017 deadline so its not new, the meeting that was recently held in Jamaica, the stakeholders meeting, discussed this issue in-depth but with all commodities there is never an agreement on what the full impact will be because its a lot of projections going forward however the worst case scenario seems to suggest a 24% drop in prices and of course the impact of that would be real on our farmers if indeed the price drop materializes. Though I must say some of the commodity traders don't believe that it will be a full 24% drop but we just have to work as it comes. At the core of all of this has been what we've been doing over the last many years to try to push the farmers to become more competitive that is at the core. We've known for the last fifteen years that the reform of the European market was in train and we would indeed arrive at this point where the erosion that we had both in terms of our real access to the market but also per country access to the market that it would materialize and that we would have an impact. Unfortunately that is where we are, we will be meeting with farmers later this week to update them on what came out of the Jamaica meeting and to try to urge them again and offer to them the facilitation rule that government has been taking* as it relates to the reform of the market."

CEO Alpuche says that the ministry is making an effort to encourage the sugarcane farmers to look at diversification.

JOSE ALPUCHE

"We've been pushing very hard from the agriculture perspective, you are aware that we have a honey and a reform of the onion project ongoing up in the Corozal and Orange Walk district. We've been pushing the implementation of tropical greenhouse for people to diversify out into vegetables and we have several programs on going to try to diversify. What we found is a reluctance from some of the farmers to diversify out of sugar cane into other products. Although as we've demonstrated to them the earnings per acre is far higher with alternative products than sugar and we believe that this gap will only widen if indeed the sugar prices decline."

The ministry will be meeting with farmers later this week to continue the discussion on the way forward with sugar.

LOVEFM

The Future of Cane Farming

Belize's sugar cane industry is one of the bedrocks of the Belizean economy, but, experts agree, it won't remain competitive much longer if farmers don't modernize. Presently, the old way of cane cutting with a machete is still the way cane is harvested, but now, ASR-BSI is trying to prod farmers towards mechanization. Daniel Ortiz found out more when he went North TO SAN ESTEVAN, Orange Walk today:...

Daniel Ortiz reporting
Mechanized Harvesting, it's a concept that's been floating around in the Sugar belt for a few years now, but for this crop season, BSI/ASR has actually been putting it into practice. There was initial resistance from the thousands of cane farmers who are used to hiring laborers to harvest their cane manually. But, they're slowly warming up to the idea, and for these last few months, 37 of them signed up to be part of a pilot project run by the millers to test out mechanical harvesting for themselves.

And what they have found is that BSI wasn't offering empty promises. This way of harvesting is more efficient and more cost effective.

Each these mechanized harvesters are able to cut 38 tons of cane per hour. Every time you see one of these high dumping wagons fill up, that's about 6 to 7 tons of cane being offloaded to a truck, which can be taken to the mill for grinding.

For this pilot project, BSI will oversee the harvesting of 28,681 tonnes of cane from these 37 growers.

Enrique Rivas - Field Agronomist, ASR/BSI
"This year we have already gotten 37 farmers that have signed with us, contracts with this mechanical harvesting pilot project. We have approximately 1,300 acres into the project. More or less, it is 35,000 tons that is being amalgamated. The benefit is to reduce cost. The industry as a whole is looking forward to reducing cost. What we want to do is maximize our profits."

And to qualify, each of these 37 farmers had to submit their cane fields to rigorous testing. The 250 fields that will be mechanically harvested were carefully selected for quality. They had to have the right level of flatness, free of debris like rocks and stumps that could damage the harvester's blades, and each row of cane had to be carefully measured out so that the harvester can properly pass over them and catch every stalk of mature cane.

Enrique Rivas - Field Agronomist, ASR/BSI
"We go about doing site visits. We have to visit all the cane fields that they are talking about, ensuring that the fields are at least harvester friendly."

But each and every one of the farms will be rewarded for their diligence. They will cut the cost of their harvest by $6.38 per ton of cane. That might not sound like much but, this project will see allow all 37 farmers to reap a total savings of 205,000 dollars.

That by itself justifies mechanized harvesting, but it has additional benefits. For one, harvested cane goes to the mill with less debris. Muddy cane has caused grinding to fall behind schedule due to the problems it brings. Mechanized harvesting cuts that down, and it also reduces the amount of cane lost during the harvesting phase.

So, that's a win all around.

Enrique Rivas - Field Agronomist, ASR/BSI
"Farmers will start realizing little by little that it is for the benefit of their families that we need to move into mechanical harvesting."

But, the harvesters burn a lot of fuel, and so, the project coordinators must make sure that they can efficiently use the machines so that the cost effectiveness endures.

Enrique Rivas - Field Agronomist, ASR/BSI
"What we have for fuel consumption is 1.2 liters per ton. We want to spend less or equal to 1.2. So if we can do less than 1.2, it is more efficient. That means you're spending less fuel for cutting that same ton of cane."

One cane farmer told us that he had to take a long look at the viability of his way of life, and that's why he tried out mechanized harvesting.

Cane Farmer
"Last year's price on the sugar definitely was not conducive for me as a cane farmer. If I continued paying the amount of price I was paying just for harvesting and delivery - the mechanical harvesting cuts my costs almost 20%. So if you are presently committed to any financial institution and the price of sugar comes at 50-52 dollars per ton, automatically you are out of business in 2-3 years. So things like that make farmers make drastic changes. Of course I was concerned, I was wondering in my cane fields are ready. If we do not make changes right now under the circumstances, a lot of us will be out of business, a lot."

So, with this crop cycle, less than 5% have tried it out for themselves. BSI is hoping that it will soon become the industry standard, but they accept that they can't get to a state of fully mechanized harvesting

Enrique Rivas - Field Agronomist, ASR/BSI
"It is not very likely 100%. Why? Because there are certain fields that are very rocky, so there is no way that you would be able to harvest cane with a harvester on those fields. Our way is paving at least 70-80% of the cane and if we can attained 90%, then it would be just much finer."

Ernesto Pop - Farmer Relations, Field Officer, ASR/BSI
"It's something new and we have to walk farmers through the project. We give them the benefits of it."

But, it's a move that the experts believe will help to keep Belize's industry viable.

William Neal - Communications & Government Affairs Officer, ASR/BSI
"This pilot project is indicative of the type of changes that the industry must make, in terms of trying to remain viable and competitive. We are a small country and the world market prices are set by larger countries like Brazil. If you want to compete, you have to see whether its $6 here or there. You have to see exactly where you can save a penny and it means in some cases that you have to move away from the way you always done it and having a romanticize kind of notion that this is the best that we can do to actually compete with everybody. Post Brexit and as the EU regime changes, we as an industry we have to come together and see what are the best ways that we can pool all our resources to make sure that we remain competitive, not only for this region, but globally as well."

Sugar's Future Uncertain In EU

This is one of the many techniques that those in the industry are exploring to make sure that Belize's sugar industry survives sweeping changes coming in only a few months from now.

In 4 months, the European Union will lift all the restrictions that they had on European Beet Sugar. Belize and the other ACP countries will have to compete directly with beet farmers who are able to produce high quality sugar very efficiently, far more so than Belizean cane farmers.

But the local industry knew that this was coming, and they weren't sitting on their hands. They've been working on several techniques to improve their production, while cutting costs. This is all in an effort to hopefully prevent European market from swallowing the local market.

Today, members of the EU met with farmers under the accompanying measures for sugar, and we met one of those officials at another event this afternoon. We had a conversation with him about the impact that the regime change could have on Belize's sugar. Here's what he told us:

Gavin Tench, Political Counsellor - E.U. BZ Delegation
"We've all known this day would come so we have spent the last 10 years preparing for it. From what I've seen today and what I've heard today from cane farmers themselves from all those involved in the project overall, Belize's is adjusting to the big change coming up and there are a lot of positives going forward. So from where I stand we're quite pleased with what we've delivered together in partnership over the 10 years. I have every confidence that the industry in Belize will go from strength to strength."

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"Is there any concerns that there will be transitional tremors for the industry when we move directly from that preferential market status?"

Gavin Tench, Political Counsellor - E.U. BZ Delegation
"We're in the realms of speculation here and of course one of the key driven factors is well market prices and unfortunately none of us has a crystal ball. I think there is the healthy approach for hope for the best, plan for all sorts of contingencies. As I say, the industry has got a solid foundation and has been preparing carefully for the day ahead."

Reporter
"Will the assistance continue on behalf of the EU?"

Gavin Tench, Political Counsellor - E.U. BZ Delegation
"Assistance directly on the sugar program will cease at that point but our overall level of assistance to Belize, our partnership with the Belize government continues and goes from strength to strength. Delighted to say that Belize was the only country in the Caribbean in the last negotiations for development funds to actually receive an increase. We are working very closely with the national authorizing office here. We'll see a lot of work going forward in the areas of energy, health, public financing management. So nobody should be under the allusion that this is the end. We may be changing our focus but our partnership is enduring."

Channel 7


European Union Rep Says Belize Will Withstand Loss of Sugar Quota

In October of this year, the EU regime changes allowing for European beet sugar to compete directly with sugar cane. For the past ten years the E.U. has been working with the local industry in the north to prepare and adjust to the upcoming change. In an interview with the media today, E.U. Political Counselor Gavin Tench says that he is confident that the industry in Belize will strengthen because while the assistance to the sugar program will seize, the partnership with government in other areas continues.

Gavin Tench, Political Counselor, European Delegation/Belize

"One of the key driving factors is world market prices and unfortunately, none of us has a crystal ball. So, I think there is the healthy approach of hope for the best and plan for all sorts of contingencies. But, as I say, the industry has got a solid foundation and has been preparing carefully for the year ahead."

Reporter

"Will the assistance continue on behalf of the E.U.?"

Gavin Tench

"The assistance directly on the sugar programme will cease on that point. But the overall level of assistance to Belize; our partnership with the Belize Government continues and grow from strength to strength. Delighted to say that Belize was the only country in the Caribbean in the last negotiations for development funds to actually receive an increase. So, we working very closely with the national authorizing office here will see a lot of work going forward in the areas of energy health, public finance management. So, nobody should be under the illusion that this is an end, maybe we may be changing our focus - or shift of focus but our partnership is enduring and it will get bigger and better."

Mechanical Harvesting - the Future of the Local Sugar Cane Industry

With a drop in the price of sugar in the global market as well as a shift to beet sugar, the local sugar industry is at a crossroads. To remain competitive, the five thousand plus farmers have to look at how to cut production and harvesting costs to remain competitive. �At American Sugar Refinery/Belize Sugar Industry, pilot testing is taking place to encourage the use of mechanical harvesting which can effectively cut down costs in producing sugar. �News Five Duane Moody was in Orange Walk today where the millers put off a demonstration for the media.

William Neal, Communications/Gov't Affairs Officer, ASR/B.S.I.

"This pilot project is indicative of the type of sweeping changes that the industry must make in terms of trying to remain viable and competitive. We are a small country and the world market prices are set by larger countries like Brazil. If you want to compete, you have to see whether it is six dollars here or there, you have to see exactly where you can save."

Duane Moody, Reporting

Regionally, Belize has the healthiest sugar industry in the Caribbean. There are only three other countries-namely Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica - that export sugar to the European Union. But with the current sugar trade conditions, and as the E.U. regime changes, there is need for more efficiency in production and harvesting.

Cosme Hernandez, General Manager, Progressive Sugar Cane Producers Association

"Most of the times when changes occur it's because situation arise where either you do it or you get out of it. Last year's price on the sugar definitely was not conducive for me to continue as a cane farmer if I continued paying the amount of price just for harvesting and delivery. The mechanical harvesting cuts my cost almost twenty percent. So if you are presently committed to any financial institution and the price of sugar comes at fifty, fifty-two dollars per ton, then automatically you are out of business in two to three years."

There are over five thousand cane farmers in northern Belize, majority are from the Orange Walk District. As it currently stands, thirty-seven farmers have signed on to a pilot program by the millers to venture into mechanized harvesting, which is the future for the viability of the industry during a most critical time. Field Agronomist, Enrique Rivas has been working closely with the mechanical harvesting pilot project with farmers this year.

Enrique Rivas, Harvesting Supervisor, ASR/B.S.I.

"The benefit is to reduce cost. The industry as a whole is looking forward to reducing costs. What we want to do is maximize our profits and one of the ways is to reduce the cost of harvesting and delivering this cane. So depending on the distance, we are charging farmers a lower rate than if it was being harvested manually because we don't have the other costs that are incurred into manual cutting and loading."

Most of the cortadores are from neighboring Central American countries. And aside from reducing that cost, the services provided by ASR/B.S.I. through the use of two contracted mechanical harvesters are more eco-friendly since there will be no need to slash and burn the crops. The goal is to get to ninety percent of mechanized harvesting. But what are the requirements that farmers must satisfy.

Enrique Rivas

"Once the farmer has created this interest of participating with us, then we go about doing site visits, ensuring that the fields are harvester friendly. That they are free of rocks and stomps because these can be dangerous for the equipment. The field conditions are right that the productivity is above forty to forty-five tons per hectare, which is approximately twenty to twenty-two tons per acre. So those are the strongest factors that we do have for selecting their fields."

So why have farmers been reluctant to move into mechanical harvesting? Is this venture costly to small and medium farmers to buy in, when compared to manual harvesting?

Cosme Hernandez

"The farmers that are reluctant to get into the project are farmers that have their own equipment. If you have your own equipment it actual costs you between twenty-one to twenty-two dollars to cut and harvest your cane; that's excluding payments sometimes to drivers. What happens is some farmers own their equipment, they operate the cane loader, the brother drives the truck so that they continue in business. But the farmer that is solely a producer really has to find ways to cut on the cutting and the delivering of cane."

Ernesto Pop, Farmer Relations Field Officer, ASR/B.S.I.

"Some of the concerns is distance from factory, would it cost more. That's one of their major concerns. Another one would be like their field conditions; so how we go about improving their field conditions as they join the program."

In terms of small farmers, associations have been looking at a possible contract in which caneros collectively agree to harvest at the same time using the mechanical harvester as a tool to cut costs. Duane Moody for News Five.

Channel 5

Has Caribbean Sugar Got A Future?

The sugar industry in the Caribbean could face some challenges

Written by David Jessop

UNLESS the sugar industry in the English-speaking Caribbean can develop a concerted plan of action over the next few months, it is quite possible that in a few years' time there will be little left of an industry which, for evil and good, has played a central role in the making of the region, writes David Jessop.

This is because this year will see two tsunami-like events occur, both of which threaten the survival of the industry in its present form. The first relates to the changes that will take place this October in Eu- rope's sugar regime. Then, as a long- planned measure, the EU will abolish national beet sugar production quotas in Europe, reducing prices and causing the overall volume of sugar imported to fall as Europe becomes self-sufficient.

For high-cost Caribbean cane sugar producers - Guyana, Barba- dos, Belize and Jamaica - this poten- tially spells the end of the European market. The second challenge arises out of the UK's decision to leave the EU. Britain has officially given for- mal notification to the EU to leave, triggering years of uncertainty for all of Britain's trade partners as they negotiate new arrangements.

For the Caribbean region, which still exports much of its sugar to the UK for refining, this means that until the UK formally separates in 2019 at the earliest, Britain is unlikely to be able to reconcile politically, how it will address the sugar issue.

This is because any UK Government is going to have to determine how to balance and resolve the competing post-Brexit interests of its domestic beet sugar producers, its cane sugar refiners, desired trade deals with major cane sugar and by- product producers like Brazil and the continuing problems of Caribbean agricultural development.

It is already clear that the British Sugar Corporation, which represents Britain's beet farmers, is preparing for a monumental fight. They make the case that because they are efficient and make a significant economic contribution to the UK economy, they offer Britain the opportunity to protect the UK from imports of cane and beet sugar from foreign producers, wherever they may be.

Unfortunately, the industry in the Caribbean must address both challenges at a time when the sugar sector still has many fundamental, unresolved issues.

While progress is being made in Belize and Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic has a viable privatised industry, there remain problems across CARICOM arising from the persistently high cost of production, poor labour relations, and inefficiencies.

More significantly, despite years of discussion and external support, governments and the industry have so far been unable to under- take the type of reforms underway in countries like Mauritius which have viably linked sugar production to sugar refining, to the rum and ethanol industries, and to power generation and food production. What is now happening in Europe raises questions about whether sugar production can survive in the Caribbean.

A conference in Jamaica has just taken place, aiming to find a basis on which a common response might be achieved. The most likely outcome is to place greater emphasis on sugar production for the regional market, a decision that would require an adjustment in the region's Common External Tariff to protect the industry while it adapts to new market conditions.

Although any measure that sustains higher sugar prices in the Caribbean may prove controversial with for example the region's soft drinks manufacturers and rum producers who want low cost raw materials, a viable future for the sugar industry remains important.

Even if the industry now only accounts for less than two per cent of regional GDP - a figure that pales in comparison to tourism - it is still a significant employer of labour, a supporter of rural communities, a provider of a range of social services, preserver of the environment and contributor to carbon reduction, while halting urban drift and the associated problems of crime.

What eventually transpires remains to be seen, but within 10 years, the EU market for raw sugar from the Caribbean will most likely be all but a matter of history. Hopefully by then, what is left of sugar in the Caribbean will be very different, reoriented, efficient and part of a broader cane-based industry.

David Jessop has worked on Caribbean issues for more than 40 years. He consults on Caribbean political and economic affairs, has a weekly syndicated column that for the last 20 years has appeared in the leading newspapers in the Caribbean, and is the editor of Caribbean Insight and Cuba Briefing. He is also a non-executive director on the Board of Jamaica National Money Services Ltd.

Source

Caribbean sugar is close to a sticky end

A century and a half after slavery ended, the plantations are closing

IN ITS 18th-century heyday cane grown in the Caribbean and cut by African slaves provided Britain with nearly all its sugar. The masters of this brutal trade made enormous fortunes. But it has seen 200 years of decline, accelerating after slavery ended in 1838. Now the region is wondering how it will cope after a policy change by the European Union which could finally bring down the curtain.

Today, the English-speaking Caribbean produces under 0.3% of the world's sugar; Brazil grows nearly a quarter. Many islands have abandoned cane for more profitable activities. Trinidad closed its last sugar factory in 2007, and a gas-related boom took up the slack. St Kitts shut its last factory two years earlier, after the debts of its state-owned managers approached a third of GDP. A railway that trundled cane now carries tourists. St Kitts's new staple is passports for foreigners, sales of which finance an opaque development agency, the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation.

Four Caribbean countries retain their taste for the sweet stuff; altogether, the industry employs more than 40,000 people. But even where it survives, sugar is in trouble. In Guyana 5% of workers still cut cane. But the state-owned sugar company has been losing money since 2008, and exports are expected to plunge by nearly 40% this year. Nearly half the people on the payroll fail to show up regularly. The ruling coalition, which relies on voters of African origin, has laid off 3,500 workers who are mostly of Indian descent; this risks inflaming racial tension. The government has put three of its six sugar estates up for sale. There may or may not be bidders.

Jamaica has privatised, de-privatised and re-privatised its failing sugar estates, selling three to a Chinese company in 2011. The buyer now complains of low productivity and an awkward government, and says growing sugar is easier in Africa. In Barbados sugar accounts for only 0.2% of foreign-exchange revenues (down from 55% in 1946), but the government says it hopes to revive the industry with a new $270m factory on the site of an old one. The project has now been blocked by an environmental lawsuit. Only in Belize, where sugar provides a quarter of export earnings, does it seem to have a future. Last year a Guatemalan firm opened a factory there producing high-value white sugar.

The region's wrinkled terrain and volatile weather make it hard to compete against the mechanised sugar operations of Brazil and Australia; average costs in the Caribbean exceed the world price. Britain long offered the industry tariff protection, which was formalised by a Commonwealth Sugar Agreement in 1951. After Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973, it ensured Caribbean producers had access to the club at high guaranteed prices. This mollycoddled outdated practices, like harvesting by hand.

The EU has been reducing protection since 2005; first it cut the guaranteed price, then abolished it. In October the EU ended quotas which had limited the beet its farmers could grow. Output of European sugar is likely to surge, depressing world prices.

To avert catastrophe, Jamaica's growers propose that Caricom, a group of 15 mostly English-speaking Caribbean countries and territories, should slap a tariff of 40% on sugar from outside. But with many regional economies either stagnant or wrecked by storms, the 7m people affected will balk at a policy that will raise the cost of biscuits and fizzy drinks, consolations which need lots of imported sugar.

The Economist

The Cane Drones Cometh

Recently, we've been showing you how the Sugar Industry in the north has been slowly incorporating technology, and modern farming practices to try to improve their productivity and competitiveness.

Well, recently, the Sugar Industry Research and Development Institute has been working on trying to reduce the headaches that the farmers experience when they have to face heavy rains which disrupt the crop season.

They introduced a new system today, and they invited the media out to the Orange Walk District. Daniel Ortiz reports:

Daniel Ortiz reporting
It may look like this gentleman is out in the middle of a cane field having fun with a remote controlled plane. But actually, this is a drone, and he's working.

This drone is special, and its purpose is to help his company, the South African firm, Agri-Sense, conduct aerial surveys of the land in the Corozal and Orange Walk Districts which is mostly covered by sugar cane fields.

Marcos Osorio - Director, SIRDI
"We are in an area between Guinea Grass and San Lazaro, known as Ridgemond Hill, and here we are about to start an interesting project for the Sugar Industry and the 2 northern districts of Belize. This project is titled land use management and we are about to start doing a Lidar survey, which is using one of the highest technologies, using laser to collect topographic data, which will be done in 900 square kilometers within the sugar belt."

That's a total of a little more than 347 square miles of cane country that the Agri-Sense team will be surveying, and it's actually the first phase of a drainage masterplan. The Sugar Industry Research and Development Institute (SIRDI) wants to help farmers deal with an acute problem that resurfaces every time there is excess rains in the north.

Marcos Osorio
"The northern part of the country is known as general flat plains. Every time we get rains, you'll find water everywhere. So, this particular project aims - or the final result will be the design of a master drainage plan for the northern districts of Belize, particularly for the sugar industry, but it will impact across every sector within the sugar belt."

Excess water in cane fields results in no oxygen to the root system, and having no oxygen, then there is no growth. The issue of water-logging... in the northern part of the country, for the sugar industry, has resulted in more incidence of pest, lower yields and much inefficiency in the sugar industry.

(SIRDI) That point was driven home back in December of 2013, when the Sugar Crop for that year had to be delayed because of the excess rain which flooded the mature cane fields.

File: December 16, 2013
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."

Marcos Osorio
"It affects the cane field. It affects the land, and generally, it brings about a poor output of sugar to the mill. And it affects everyone within the sugar industry."

That's where this drainage master plan comes in. It will be designed to mitigate the damage to the sugar industry due to flooding.

So, what role do the drones in this? Well, they will help Agri-Sense complete the first phase of the master plan. This is the reconnaissance phase and these professionals are experts of technique called stereo photogrammetry. That is the science of making measurements from photographs.

Russell Longhurst - Managing Director, Agri-Sense International
"We have ground controlled points which we've put. That's the ground team that's working in advanced of us. They've put down ground control points throughout the area, which we'll use to tie in the model. Those points are measured to an accuracy of 2 centimeters… Then the drone flies over, takes a picture of the marker. We know the position of the marker. We know the position of the drone, and then we can actually get the accurate elevation and tie all those points together to get a model. Our part in this whole thing is to develop an accurate elevation model, so that the engineers can design a drainage master plan on top of that."

They are in Belize for 30 days to cover about 15 square miles a day with the drones, until they've photographed the entire 347 square miles of territory that they've been contracted to do.

Russell Longhurst
"We'll send the UAV's into the air, one then the next. And we'll be covering an area today, probably about 4,000 hectares of survey."

After that, there are several other phases, that will span months, but the end goal is to actually see this drainage masterplan become a reality.

The SIRDI director believes that this project will see improvements in areas other than agriculture.

Marcos Osorio
"It will bring benefit, not only the sugar industry. It will benefit the road network infrastructure. It will benefit the communities that are prone to flooding. It will benefit tourism, and I think it will bring about major developments for the northern districts because water management is a big issue. It's something that we've not really done anything… So, we estimate, or the vision is that 20 years from today, the whole northern districts should be transformed."

As you heard in the story, this the very first phase of this drainage master plan. There are several steps that must take place before any actual construction takes place.

But, the survey team has been having some difficulties with some landowners in the survey area.

The Director of SIRDI told us that specifically in Ship Yard, the ground teams doing this survey have been encountering resistance setting up the mapping markers for the drone's flight path.

Some landowners don't want them entering their properties, and many were suspicious of the land survey for the sugar industry. He is asking the land owners within the 900 square kilometers to allow the men to do their jobs.

He assures them that this is not the Government trying to take anyone's land away. He insists that this water drainage system for the sugar industry will ameliorate flooding problems in the parts of the Orange Walk and Corozal Districts where the system is installed.

Channel 7



Sugar Cane varieties and their role in sugar quality

There are other factors at play when it comes to sugar cane quality. One of those is sugar cane varieties. Presently, farmers manage a few of these, but a majority is growing one particular type of sugar cane. While this is considered a good variety, being able to endure weather changes for the most part, it is posing some challenges. BSI on the other hand has been growing another variety that has helped it to top the results of the quality testing. Regel Cal, Cane Farmer Relation Officer explains.

Regel Cal, Cane Farmer Relation Officer:“BSI has plenty of varieties which start to harvest as the crop starts in December they start to harvest these cane and these are high in sugar at that time. So while most farmers have the B79 which is a mid to late variety at this time in December January the B79 �tends to have a lot of water so whenever the farmers are taking their cane they are not taking quality cane unlike BSI.”

It would seem that the cane variety that matures early in the crop would be the way to go for all farmers. Adrian Zetina, Research and Development Chief says not so. As is, he says, too many farmers are growing the B79 variety.

Regel Cal, Cane Farmer Relation Officer:"Variety plays a very big role in the maturity of the cane, there are some cane that mature earlier which we call early maturing varieties, there are some cane that mature in the mid season, about now which is the mid maturing variety and then we have the late maturing varieties. This is precisely why we use this type of equipment. If we have two or three varieties that are mid maturing and we are not sure which one is the ripest we can bring them in an compare at what point it is in its maturity."

Reporter: Can you state what is the majority, or what type of variety are most farmers bringing in?

Regel Cal, Cane Farmer Relation Officer: "Most farmers are bringing in B79 474 which is a very good variety, there is just one issue with it in that we just have too much of it, it’s covering about 55% of the surface area that we have right now. That presents us with two problems, that presents us with A, we can’t harvest all of the crop 55% of it because it is a mid maturing variety in March/April that is impossible we just cannot do that. It also presents a bigger problem being that it is a very big disease risk if a disease is to enter and B79 is particularly susceptible to it almost half of the industry is gone. That is what we do here in BSI, we focus a lot on variety development and we are seeing a lot of very good varieties coming out. What we want and encourage farmers to do is try new varieties to begin to replace B79."


DC Sugar production can help minimize impact of lowering global sugar prices

BSI has begun production of Direct Consumption Sugar at the start of the 2017/2018 sugar crop. Production continues and as stated by Avilez, its production is seen by the company as the way to go under the current strains being faced by the industry. Given the lowering global market prices, which does impact the payments to farmers, we asked Avilez whether the production of DC Sugars will help cushion the impact on payments.

Olivia Avilez, Cane Farmers Relations Officer: “Most certainly we are looking at direct consumption sugar production. Demerara sugar production as a priority for every thousand tons of Demerara that we produce we are able to improve the cane price by 25 cents so that's a figure for this year it's not for every year but based on the prices that we have so far for every one thousand tons of Demerara that we produce above the twelve thousand that we have reported we can improve it by 25 cents so everybody is monitoring what Demerara will look like but again Demerara it is produced a little slower and with better quality so it requires more time therefore sometimes milling rate decreases if we are able to manage the part of the investment that was projected for the 18 months in this year then we are able to do a little bit more.”


BSI demonstrates the "Sweet Sampling" process

The Belize Sugar Industry held a Pre-Harvest Sugar Cane Quality Testing Program Demonstration for the media in Orange Walk this morning. The demonstration highlighted the "Sweet Sampling for Sweeter Returns" project, which monitors sugar cane quality.The program came about after farmers questioned BSI as to how they improved their sugar cane quality. The questions arose after farmers started delivering some of the best quality sugar cane to the mill. BSI wrote a project to help the farmers and obtained a majority of the funding from the Hershey Company.� The objective of the program is to help farmers deliver the sugar cane with the highest quality and in so doing obtain maximum yields from their crop. This then translates to better cane payments for farmers. So how does it work? Dalila Ical has the details.

LOVEFM


Farmers Able To Raise The Quality Of Cane

Earlier in the news, we told you how world sugar prices are currently down by as much as half of last year's prices.

The world market is saturated with sugar, so the prices may dip lower as a result.

But, those within the local sugar industry are trying to adapt to the stiff competition by improving their farming techniques, and reducing production costs.

One such initiative is being led by BSI/ASR, and the Sugar Cane Production Committee, with funding from the American chocolate company, Hershey, through its Learn to Grow Program.

The initiative is simply to maximize the quality of the cane being delivered to the mill by ensuring that the crop is at its peak maturity and purity. It's called Sweet Sampling for Sweet Returns, and it's been running for just over 6 months. BSI invited the press to see how it is already yielding big results for the sugar cane farmers who've signed up. Daniel Ortiz reports:

Olivia Avilez - Cane Farmer Relations, BSI
"This program really is to showcase and transfer some of the techniques and technologies that we are using in our farms to farmers, so that they are able to have the opportunity to develop their cane quality as well."

Daniel Ortiz reporting
For this demonstration on how this new sampling technique works, the Cane Farmer Relations Field Officers took the press to a cane field in an area outside of Orange Walk Town called "Ramonal".

Regel Cal - Cane Farmer Relations, BSI
"This field belongs to Mr. Octavio Cowo. What we do, we approach the farmer, the reaping group leader and he indicates to us which fields he intends to harvest within 3 weeks. So we do testing like 6-7 fields at a time. So by that when he gets his results he can do a calendar of harvesting according to the results."

This cane sampling program is tied to another initiative between BSI and the Sugar Cane Production Committee. The extensive mapping of all the cane fields in the north under the Sugar Industry Management Information System, SIMIS, allows these field officers to be able to choose 5 to 10-acre plots on the cane fields to test. It is carefully monitored with GPS equipment.

Russel Navarro - Cane Farmer Relations, BSI
"We have a GPS where it shows the map of the cane farmers. So we have a system that has mapped almost all the cane parcels in the sugar industry and the parcels are given a unique number. So no number repeats itself. Once we have the parcel number, we enter the field at the mid-section. We guide ourselves with the GPS, because it shows our position and then we enter in and the person that do the cutting enters the field and take out the sample."

Once the cane samples have been carefully labelled, they are transported to BSI's spectra-cane laboratory for analysis.

Jamilet Minero - Lab Tech, BSI
"Usually the branches that they brought in usually are like 10 stalks. We put it in the shredder and the machine which is the spectrecane is an IRI system - infra red light. This system will we do moisture, fiber, brick in cane - give you purity and based on this results we can passed it on to the farmers and help them have a very good harvesting schedule. To help them bring in as much sugarcane delivery to the factory. The machine is subdivided into 3 conveyors; the deliver conveyor, the presentation conveyor where the actual reading is done. Then we have the disposal conveyor. It is all controlled by one PLC and right there I input the data, the guy loads it, I press go and the machine does all the work. When it done, I run the quad which I can show you guys as well and I prepare the report."

Adrian Zetina - Research & Development Chief, BSI
"It gives us bricks which is the total dissolve solids. So this includes sugar which is the majority component of the bricks. It also includes salts, proteins and any other of these solids that we have in the juice. POL is the exclusively the sucrose that is in the juice. So using these 2 parameters you have POL and you divide by bricks and that will give us the purity. As a standard the industry has that we will accept 81% purity. The cane needs to be at 81%. If it falls below that then it cannot be accepted at the mill."

The tests sound highly technical, but the data is helpful to the cane farmers in making an effective harvesting plan.

Once the results from the spectra-cane tests are in, it's the job of Vasni Pech, to make that data easily understandable and accessible to farmers.

And he makes it as simple as possible. The plots are identified on a map, and color coded to tell the reaping group leaders where to cut, and which plot of cane to leave alone. Green means that this plot is ready to harvest right now. Yellow tells the farmer to leave that part of the cane field for about 2 more weeks. Finally, red means that cutting this cane is a no-no. It's too young and needs more time to mature and ripen.

Vasni Pech - GIS Technician, BSI
"We use the graphic information system to develop that report and we correlate the laboratory information with the field data collected from the field officers. We have a field ID where we correlate with the laboratory and the field and we have 3 categories we use which are the if the field have a purity less than 81% is red, which means that it cannot be harvest at the moment. Also we have a category of 81-83% which is yellow, which means that that field can be harvested within 2 weeks and also the 3rd category is over 83% where that field can be harvested immediately if the farmer wants. A printed report is given to them with also the map color coded showing them that the results given from the laboratory."

Adrian Zetina
"The information that we get, the farmers can know which fields have exactly what purity. So field A will have 85.6% purity, field B would have 88.9% purity. The farmer will want to go into the field that has a higher purity."

One farmer who we met today is convinced that this is a progressive step to help farmers get the most out of their investment.

Jose Luis Cowo - Cane Farmer, PSCPA
"Depending on the length of the month, regularly about 12 months, we thought it was at a good maturity. But now using the test we could determine much better accuracy."

Reporter
"Would you recommend this to other cane farmers? Would you recommend them to become a part of this program?"

Jose Luis Cowo
"Definitely, because we need to understand that all the cane farmers work hard and we need to get better on business of cane."

Adrian Zetina
"We've seen some very good quality of cane that has been coming in. Farmers tend to peak around March/April of this time. So all the cane that they are bringing in right now is about 89, 90, 91% purity with very low moisture. So all the cane out there is ready to go."

To also ease the pain of these current low world prices for raw sugar, BSI/ASR is looking into increasing the production of direct consumption sugars. These value added products sell on the market for about 42% more than raw sugar.

ASR/BSI has to make a 22 million-dollar investment to make the increase in production of direct consumption sugars a reality. The company is hoping to make part of that investment this year.

Channel 7

Does anyone know of any other Maya village in Toledo that produce their own local sugar from organic sugar cane? I was able to still find one in my home village of San Jose Hawaii when I was there in July of last year. This is my old primary school classmate Casimiro. Proud of the man still keeping tradition alive.
Daniel Cho

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