Posted: Sunday, December 31, 2023. 1:24 pm CST.
By Aaron Humes: Import white sugar, one of Belize’s most recognizable products at home and abroad?
It seemed unthinkable, but then so did the idea that locally produced sugar was much more greatly valued in Guatemala and Mexico than at home – and that certain locals would shortchange the Belizean public to make maximum profits.
Yet both scenarios are true, as Belize Sugar Industries Limited/American Sugar Refining (BSI/ASR) confirmed on Wednesday that it has a permit from Government to import 250 metric tons or 550 thousand pounds of granulated white sugar from the United States for the Belizean market.
Shawn Chavarria, Director of Finance at BSI/ASR, says it’s a case of “we told you so”: “We’ve been highlighting this for some time now and, in fact, back in 2014 when we had made the proposal this was one of the risks that we highlighted to the then administration, that unless you address the low artificial price, you will continue to see these challenges of sugar being smuggled across the border. And it’s taking place again because the neighboring countries, the sugar is being sold at much higher prices.”
Chavarria forecasts that with another poor sugar crop expected in Mexico in particular, shortages there and the threat of shortchanged sugar will continue, meaning the shortages reported during the Christmas season and the rationing on supermarket shelves will continue even as BSI said they produced more than enough for the domestic market.
And if that doesn’t move Belmopan, the price rises expected with incurred expenses for importation certainly will: “…as an industry, we are again suffering because the price and the revenue that we could earn from exporting this sugar, we’re now sacrificing that because we want to keep the local market, the domestic market, fed. But that sugar, in a sense, is being exported by others, and they are reaping the benefits and rewards of it, as opposed to the farmers and ourselves. And so we want the government to look seriously at this situation to adjust the sugar prices to levels that are consistent with market levels so that we avoid this situation because it will not go away.”
Chavarria further indicated that BSI’s warehouses have just 10 days of white sugar left as of Wednesday and that the imported sugar covers the country as Belize starts to mill its own once more. He estimates that with no markup from BSI, the sugar would be imported at $1.20 per pound and sell on the shelves for around $1.50 per pound – twice the price-controlled cost of Belizean-made sugar at 75 cents. Brown sugar continues to sell at 39 cents wholesale, and around 50 cents retail.
Belize consumes annually about 12 thousand tons of white sugar and 3,500 tons of brown sugar.
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The post Why Belize must import white sugar from U.S. for now appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
Posted: Sunday, December 31, 2023. 1:24 pm CST. By Aaron Humes: Import white sugar, one of Belize’s most recognizable products at home and abroad? It seemed
The post Why Belize must import white sugar from U.S. for now appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
