History of theSugar Industry
Sugar Industry History in Belize
Sugar cane first came to Belize almost 150 years ago by James Hume Blake. Later on refugee fleeting from Mexico crossed from Yucatan and brought sugar cane with them into Corozal district. The next set of people to grow sugar cane was the Confederate Americans in the Toledo district, and Chinese immigrants in Punta Gorda and they were also brought here for that purpose.
The Sugar mill represent an early start at sugar production in Belize, reports are that between 1883 and 1884 there were about 60 sugar estates with steam machinery operating all over the country and together they produced 2,391 tons of sugar. The first of these operations started right here at Lamanai probably around the mid 1850’s later it was sold to the British Honduras Company but the industry here at Lamanai didn’t last long about 25years due to a shortage of labors and inexperience to operate the machinery.
Nevertheless sugarcane industry had a future in Belize although the price of sugar fell and by 1935 only 6 mills remains open.
Corozal Sugar Factory was set up the same year and was erec
ted at Pembroke Hall in the Corozal district although the cane was fed manually into the mill it produced an average of 1,200 tons of sugar per year until 1954 when they had enough foreign capital to improve the factory, after which production rose to 25,816 tons in 1962.
n Orange Walk district. It began producing an annual of 25,000 ton of sugar and the Belize sugar Factory in Corozal increased their production to 38,320 making both factories producing 63,320 tons.Unfortunately due to the fluctuation in world prices and later reduction in the U.S quota caused a financial crisis which ended in the closure of the Corozal Sugar Factory Ltd.
