Sugarcane is cultivated in the northern districts of Orange Walk and Corozal by over 5,300 cane farmers on approximately 23,100 to 26,300 hectares of land.⁵ Both the Orange Walk and Corozal Cane Farmers Association supply the Belize Sugar Industries Limited (BSI), the sole processor of sugar in Belize, with sugarcane.

Production

Sugar has traditionally been the largest contributor to agriculture GDP but this has changed significantly due a reduction in output . Performance was dampened by a decline in output due to the floods of 2008. For the 2008/09 crop, sugarcane output fell by 6.3% to 917,728 long tonnes, the smallest harvest in 22 years. The 2009/10 crop output was 1,122,765 long tonnes. However, sugar produced was a mere 88,177 tonnes, 4,232 tonnes less than the previous crop year of 92,409 tonnes. Declines in sugar output was primarily due to poor cane quality. The Belize Sugar Industries (BSI) 2010 Crop Report indicates that sugar in cane was at 10.82%, while for last crop it was at 12.32%. Sugar in cane is a reflection of how stale the cane is; the more stale the cane is, the less sugar in cane. Added to that, the ratio of mud to cane is also reflective of its poor quality. The total mud extracted for the 2010 crop was 100,852 tons, which is more than double the amount compared to the 2008/09 crop. This translates into more mill time at the processing plant to process the cane which adds to the cost in terms of factory efficiency and time.

Even though the 2010 sugar crop resulted in just less than 4,232 less tonnes of sugar produced than in 2009, according the Senator Godwin Hulse, member of the Board of BSI, the price cut imposed on the European Union following a ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO) resulted in severe decline in profits despite rising market prices. Hulse emphasized the importance of better cane quality in sustaining the sugar industry in which BSI would be in a better position to process as much as 120 tonnes of cane with potential revenues of $99.84 million.

Prices

Prices for sugar exports to the European Union fell from €496.80 to €448.80/metric ton, specifically Bz$1,103/ton. The final price for the 2009/10 crop is to receive the full effect of the 16.5% EU price decrease of €335.40/metric ton. Gough underscored that the reduction in prices for the 2008/09 crop was cushioned by a significant reduction in freight charges (from US$135/ton in 2007/08 to US$78/ton in 2008/09 crop year). In addition, exchange rate gains from the Euro average unit price negotiated also mitigated the effect of the reduction in prices.⁷

Exports

Belize exported all of its sugar for the 2008/09 crop to the EU market under the Sugar Protocol of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement. No sugar was exported under the Complimentary Quality regime. Other export markets are CARICOM and the United States.

Crop Forecast

Crop forecast for the 2009/10 crop is for 1.17 million tons of sugarcane. With the Sugar Industry Control Board administering the delivery schedule for sugarcane, it is expected that this will translate into greater efficiency in the industry as transport-to-mill-time is expected to be more manageable.