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IDB Invest supports Belize's sugar industry together with Belize Sugar Industries Limited

  • The financing is IDB Invest's first loan in Belize and reinforces one of the country's main industries.

IDB Invest, the private sector institution of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, granted a loan of up to US$15 million to Belize Sugar Industries Limited (BSI), a leading company in the sugar sector of Belize. The operation will allow the company to increase its production and exports of higher value-added sugars, diversifying its export markets and strengthening its value chain.

The financing will help BSI make investments to its mill aimed at mitigating the fall in prices of raw sugar in the European Union, its main export market, by increasing its production capacity to market products that attract higher prices in the international markets than raw sugar. The increase in revenues will benefit BSI’s supply chain, made up of more than 5,400 small and medium sugar cane producers, who will share in the net sales received for higher value sugars produced by BSI.

IDB Invest will complement the financing with technical assistance to help improve the agricultural productivity and sustainability of these sugar cane producers in northern Belize.

Belize is CARICOM's second largest sugar producer and represents approximately one-third of the production in the Caribbean. The sector, directly and indirectly, employs 15 percent of the country's population and represents 34 percent of its exports. It is one of the main productive sectors of the country and of great importance to improve the economy of the country's rural population.

About IDB Invest
IDB Invest, the private sector institution of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, is a multilateral development bank committed to supporting Latin America and the Caribbean businesses. It finances sustainable enterprises and projects to achieve financial results that maximize economic, social and environmental development for the region. With a current portfolio of US$11.2 billion under management and 330 clients in 23 countries, IDB Invest works across sectors to provide innovative financial solutions and advisory services that meet the evolving demands of its clients.

About Belize Sugar Industries Limited (BSI)
BSI, established in 1963, and controlled by ASR Group International, Inc. since October 2012, is the main sugar mill and sugar exporter of Belize. In addition, BSI also owns and operates a 27.5 MW cogeneration energy power plant (Belcogen) for auto-consumption and sale of energy to the national public grid, providing around 15 percent of the country’s energy needs. For the 2017 Crop, BSI milled 1.3 million tonnes of sugarcane and produced 144,000 tonnes of sugar, 40,000 tonnes of molasses and 70,000 MWh of energy.