BSI resumes sugar cane milling after one-week rain suspension

Photo Credit: BSI

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: Sugar cane milling at Belize Sugar Industries (BSI) in Orange Walk resumed on Thursday after a one-week suspension caused by the constant rains.

“Milling resumed [Thursday] and weather will dictate how much more we can get delivered,” Marcos Osorio, Sugar Industry Control Board (SICB) Chairman told Breaking Belize News on Friday.

“The Mill is milling very low at 60% capacity due to mill mechanical problems. This will affect how much more can be delivered. Four thousand (4,000) tons is forecasted per day but is still falling short.”

According to Osorio, BSI’s milling capacity is 6,400 tons daily but for the present crop, the company is actually doing 6,100 tons daily.

Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise Jose Abelardo Mai said that suspending the sugar cane season is not a regular occurrence but rainfall has been too heavy.

“When it rains daily, yes, but we haven’t seen this too often,” Minister Mai told Breaking Belize News on Wednesday, one day before the milling resumed.

“But it’s raining every day right now, and we had to stop. When it rains like this constantly, we can’t burn cane to begin with.”

Minister Mai said that since the sugar crop has also been affected by a labour shortage this year, he figures the industry will not meet the projected 1.1 million metric tons.

“It appears to me that we will not be able to deliver all the sugar cane. Sad,” Minister Mai said.

“We haven’t reached the million tons yet. I don’t know if we’ll reach that to be honest. We’re hoping to get there but there will be cane left in the fields if the weather doesn’t change.”

“Up to before the restart Thursday, 980,050 metric tons had been milled,” Osorio said.

With milling being done daily from Monday to Sunday, except for mechanical stops, and the season normally finishing at the end of June, the industry is running against time to meet the target.

Though the season normally ends at the end of June, this season will go until July 15, but even so the present target won’t be reached. However, the original target of 975,000 has been surpassed.

According to Osorio, at the present milling rate of 4,000 tons per day, 20 to 25 days more would be needed, so the present target isn’t possible.

“Most to be done is about 1,070,000 tons, if the weather cooperates,” Osorio concluded.

That would be 30,000 tons short.

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