In a landmark ruling delivered on Monday, June 10, 2026, Belize’s Court of Appeal has thrown out a legal challenge from British sugar conglomerate T&L Sugars Limited, clearing a critical path for a multi-million dollar Fairtrade premium dispute between the company and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) to move forward to a full public trial.
At the heart of the conflict is an estimated $9 million in Fairtrade premium funds linked to sugar cane harvested and produced by Belizean smallholder farmers across the 2021 to 2023 crop seasons. The BSCFA alleges that this designated money, which is meant to be allocated directly to cane farmers as part of Fairtrade’s ethical pricing framework, was wrongfully withheld by T&L Sugars and never distributed to the producers who earned it.
T&L Sugars had launched the appeal to have the BSCFA’s claim thrown out entirely, arguing that Belize’s domestic courts held no legal jurisdiction over the disagreement. The company insisted that any contractual dispute between the two parties must be resolved through private arbitration based in London, per a clause included in a previous commercial agreement between the groups. However, Justice Sandra Minott-Phillips delivered the court’s unanimous finding that the case raises genuine, substantial legal questions that warrant a full evidentiary hearing, and confirmed that Belizean courts do hold proper jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter. The court further ruled that there was no legal standing to enforce the expired arbitration clause, as the original agreement it was attached to had already ceased to be active before the dispute arose.
Reaction to the ruling has been split among industry stakeholders in Belize. Alfredo Ortega, vice chairman of the BSCFA, praised the court’s decision as a win for transparency and farmer rights. “Our lawyer worked very diligently and hard, and this is the result that we got yesterday,” Ortega said in a press statement following the ruling. He confirmed that the case will now return to Belize’s High Court, where T&L Sugars has been given a 42-day window to submit its formal defense to the BSCFA’s claims, after which the court will schedule a start date for the full trial.
Beyond the BSCFA’s core claims, the association alleges that T&L Sugars and local processor Belize Sugar Industries colluded to withhold the premium funds that are contractually required to go directly to cane producers. A final trial date has not yet been set as of the ruling.
Not all industry observers have welcomed the progression of the litigation, however. Jose Abelardo Mai, Belize’s former Minister of Agriculture, publicly commented on the ruling during a Monday morning interview on the talk show *Open Your Eyes*, warning that the costly legal battle comes at the worst possible moment for Belize’s already struggling sugar sector. Mai noted that the industry is currently grappling with what he described as “its worst crisis in its history,” compounded by overlapping challenges including skyrocketing fuel costs, worsening climate change impacts, long-term soil degradation, and widespread crop diseases that have already driven down yields and pushed many smallholder farmers to the brink of financial instability. “The mill has serious deficiencies. Cane farmers are having very poor yields, so this litigation comes at a wrong time. All those resources could be placed where they are mostly needed right now,” Mai added.
Full further details on the ruling and the upcoming trial will be broadcast during tonight’s episode of News 5 Live at 6:00 PM local time.