Sugar Producers Block Mill Over Credit Dispute in Quintana Roo

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — Around 500 sugar producers from southern Quintana Roo have blocked the San Rafael de Pucté mill to demand fair credit conditions, describing as “abusive” the credit that the corporate group Beta San Miguel intends to impose to start the 2025-2026 harvest.

The action is to express their rejection of the credit that Beta San Miguel aims to impose as a condition to begin the 2025-2026 harvest. The protesters prevented access for approximately 200 workers, including administrative staff and laborers, who were attempting to conduct mechanical and milling tests at the factory.

Sergio Crisanto Morteo, leader of the Unión Local de Productores (Ulpca), stated that the industrialists refuse to grant cane producers a loan, a practice carried out annually through the mill, and instead want to do it through the financial institution Unagra.

He indicated that this situation implies new costs for the cane growers and more debt, a scenario that further worsens the economic situation currently faced by the cane producers along the Hondo River basin.

He explained that the protest is to open a dialogue table with company representatives, because previously submitted requests were never addressed.

Among the main demands of the producers is the reduction of interest rates, which currently reach 24%, an unsustainable figure for the sector, so they ask for them to be lowered as much as possible.

Benjamín Gutiérrez Reyes, representative of the Confederación Nacional de Productores Rurales (CNPR), emphasized that the company tried to pull a “fast one” by excluding a large portion of the cane growers and with interest rates never previously set.

Producers from both organizations along the Hondo River basin are participating in the blockade and will maintain it for as long as necessary, until a representative from Beta San Miguel offers to begin negotiation tables.

The producers’ list of demands includes points such as the reduction of interest on advances, inputs, and repair loans, as well as a detailed report on the actions that producers maintain with the Unagra bank.