BSI/ASR Ceases Sugar Cane Operations to Implement Hurricane Prep Plan

The sugar mill, BSI/ASR stopped receiving sugar cane today as the company is looking to activate its hurricane preparation plan.  The mill issued a release today, emphasizing that the cease of operations is to ensure the safety of the employees and farmers as the hurricane predictions are looking at a definite impact in the north of Belize.  BSI/ASR explained that it takes an estimated two days to liquidate the sugar mill which is why the close off time was today.  Once the liquidation process is completed, then staff would have to activate their personal preparation plans.   In this vein, BSI/ASR is calling for the sugar cane crop to should begin earlier in the year to avoid the interruptions such as hurricanes and blockades down the road.  For now, the mill says they are working with farmers to improve their climate resilience by supporting the replanting of a wider range of cane varieties thereby decreasing the industry’s dependency on a single variety and mid-to-late maturing varieties.