Sugar Industry Commission of Inquiry, established to review state of sugar cane industry, gets inquiry underway

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: The Sugar Industry Commission of Inquiry established in March by Prime Minister John Briceño to review the state of the sugar cane industry held its first meeting virtually on May 29, 2024, according to a statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister.

“The Commission is expected to examine the sugar cane industry’s whole value chain and present recommendations to the Government of Belize,” the statement said.

“A general plan for the first phase of work, along with associated logistics, was discussed and agreed upon. That first phase is expected to include visits to the mills at BSI and Santander and farm and field trips to sugar production sites in the north and west of Belize.”

Of late, the sugar industry in northern Belize has been at an impasse due to the disagreement between Belize Sugar Industries and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association over the May 2023 Sugar Import/Export Regulations which were ruled unconstitutional in a high court judgement on February 29, 2024.

Amidst that situation, Prime Minister Briceño established the Commission of Inquiry on March 19 to review the state of affairs in the sugar industry which is a great income earner for Belize .

“In 2024, Belize is projected to earn a record $190 million dollars from sugar exports,” Minister of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise (MAFSE) Jose Abelardo Mai said in his presentation in the Budget Debate in the House of Representatives at the end of March.

“A general plan for the first phase of work, along with associated logistics, was discussed and agreed upon. That first phase is expected to include visits to the mills at BSI and Santander and farm and field trips to sugar production sites in the north and west of Belize.”

The Office of the Prime Minister’s statement said that to facilitate the proposed visits and their in-country work, the commissioners will begin to arrive in Belize during the first week of June, and the SICB will provide logistical support.

The statement said the commissioners agreed that their meetings would not be held publicly but the Commission’s Lead Coordinator Hugh O’Brien, who “would occasionally avail himself of interviews”, would keep the press informed.

The inaugural virtual meeting was attended by Chairman Wayne Piper and the five commissioners, namely Robert Mariette and Vinod Ramharai from Mauritius, Jeffery Joseph from Belize, Andy Church from South Africa, and Simon Gibbons from the United Kingdom. 

The meeting was also attended by O’Brien, Secretary to the Commission Lorena Posada, Chairman of the Sugar Industry Control Board (SICB); Sugar Industry Control Board (SICB) Chairman Marcos Osorio, and Technical Coordinator for the Mauritius team Krity Neermul.

The statement said the Commission of Inquiry is expected to complete its report(s) by November 30, 2024.

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