American Sugar Refining,a subsidiary of Florida Crystals and Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida,has acquired majority stake in Belize Sugar Industries,while the previous shareholders including BSI Employee Holdings continue to hold the remaining stake.
Belize Sugar Industries(BSI),a Fair Trade-certified sugar supplier,produces raw sugar,demerara specialty sugars and white sugar at its sugar mill in Belize.It has about 500 employees.
It processes the cane of 6,000 independent growers in the region.In the recent crop,it produced 114,000 tons of sugar.
More than 85%of BSI's total production is exported as raw sugar to the EU and US markets or as demerara,a natural brown sugar,to the UK and Canada.
American Sugar co-president Luis Fernandez said the acquisition will enable the company to expand its sugar business.
"We plan to invest in the company and utilize our employees'depth of sugar expertise to expand BSI's operations and efficiencies in order to increase supplies of raw sugar and value-added Fair Trade and specialty sugars to our operations to meet consumer demand,"Fernandez said.
American Sugar and its parent companies operate 10 sugar refineries and five sugar mills in New York,Maryland,Louisiana,California,Florida,Canada,Mexico,England,Portugal and the Dominican Republic.
