For the second consecutive year, cane farmers in northern Belize will receive a record final payment for their sugarcane of BZ$90.95 per ton of cane for the 2024 crop. This payment will be made on Monday, 4 November 2024 and the record price can be attributed to several factors including the financial benefits of strategic and transformational investments by Belize Sugar Industries Limited (BSI) combined with continued new market exploration - particularly in CARICOM - and improved global market prices for sugar.
This final cane price is based on the 2024 crop production figures of 1,027,462 long tons of cane delivered to the mill from which 102,718 long tons of sugar, and 39,958 long tons of molasses was produced. Sugar sales include raw sugar destined for the EU and US markets and Direct Consumption Sugars (DCS) for the EU, Belize domestic, CARICOM and other markets.
Shawn Chavarria, BSI Finance Director, says “While this record final payment could have been higher if cane quality was better and crop disruptions were avoided, this record payment comes at an opportune time given the new challenges posed by crop disease. We hope that farmers will take advantage of the record payment and implement preventative measures for tackling disease and pests. In addition, this new record payment demonstrates the highly beneficial terms of the current Commercial Agreement that farmers enjoy for the purchase of their sugar cane. We remain optimistic that farmers will be motivated to invest more in their cane land to increase both productivity and cane quality.”
Last week, BSI launched its SmartGrow project that leverages Blockchain technology to benefit the entire northern industry. Farmers are encouraged to take advantage of projects like SmartGrow, AgGrowPro, mechanical harvesting and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) BZ$50m grant being implemented through the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center (CCCCC). Collectively, these initiatives are a lifeline for increased cane productivity and farm transformation, during the medium and long term.
-----ENDS---
For further information, please contact:
William A. Neal
Email: william.neal@asr-group.com
Cell: 610-9774
###
