CITRUS GROWERS PLAN TWO DAY PROTEST

February 15, 2010

There is trouble in the Citrus Industry and on Tuesday things will get interesting in the Stann Creek Valley. That is because the Belize Citrus Growers Association will take its fight to seat its directors on the Board of the Citrus Products of Belize Limited to the court of public opinion. The situation is somewhat complicated as Belize Citrus Growers Association owns fifty one percent shares in Citrus Products of Belize Limited; but CGA has been prevented from seating its directors on the Board of CPBL by the minority partner in an investment agreement signed back in 2006. Chief Executive Officer Dr. Henry Anderson says CGA will take to the picket line on Tuesday and Wednesday to coincide with a planned Citrus Products of Belize Limited Board meeting involving representatives of the Barbados-based Banks Holdings Limited.

Dr. Henry Anderson; Chief Executive Officer, Citrus Growers Association

“And essentially we have been talking and talking and these guys have not been listening. Banks Holdings will be in Belize on Tuesday and Wednesday next week and on Tuesday they will be here to hold a board meeting. They have taken some very strong decisions against CGA in previous CPBL board meetings. Late last year they took a decision to have CPBL growers, which are members of CGA to resign from the CGA. We are not sure what they intend to do at this latest board meeting but we essentially fear the worst. What you will be seeing on Tuesday and Wednesday is the Citrus Industry; meaning the growers, the workers and the stakeholders within this industry coming out to show solidarity and to say one single thing. It is a singular purpose. CGA owns 51% of CPBL and it has the legal right to have its five people on the board; the five people it chooses and it is demanding that Banks Holdings listens to that right now and abide by it. Since they will be in the country at that time it is just to show solidarity. I must stress that it is a legal, peaceful and law abiding thing. It will be tomorrow and Wednesday from eight in the morning until five.”

Anderson says that the singular purpose of the two-day demonstration is to let investors representatives, including CPBL’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Henry Canton understand that they must stop preventing the members of the CGA from appointing their directors to the board of the Citrus Products of Belize Limited.

Dr. Henry Anderson

“What you have right now is essentially four representatives from Banks Holdings and you have the CEO of CPBL Doctor Henry Canton and you have Michael Dunker, who is the Chairman and Frank Redman. Those three people are sitting in seats that should be here for ICL so you have seven of the board members that represent other interests and you only have two members there, Mr. Patrick Pollack and Mr. Charles Woods that who represent our interest. They can think up anything they want to do and do it and in some cases they have done so. Essentially what the growers are saying is that we need these investors to understand that as lopsided as that investment agreement is, we have honored it and we have worked with it but we will not allow any entity to come into this country and to essentially prevent any entity to come into this country and to prevent the majority investor, this is what is ludicrous about all of this, from having the five people on the board. This is just to put a show of solidarity to let them understand that the Citrus Growers Association, the citrus industry and all the stakeholders are not happy with what is going on. We hope they will get the sense and all of their share holders in the Caribbean, because they are publicly traded, to review the type of business practices they are doing here in Belize.”

Patrick Jones, Reporter

Who will be out on the demonstration line tomorrow?

Dr. Henry Anderson

“It will be citrus growers, it will be their workers and it will be other stakeholders with the industry, the truckers and everybody who works in the industry.”

Patrick Jones, Reporter

How many people do you expect demonstration and won’t this interrupt the work of CGA?

Dr. Henry Anderson

“CGA will have to focus on this over the next two days because when you own an asset such as CPBL and you do not have a say in what is happening with it that is priority. For the next two days we will be looking at it from the CGA’s point of view and showing solidarity with our growers.”

Patrick Jones, Reporter

So, basically CGA will be closed down for two days?

Dr. Henry Anderson

“No, we will still be conducting business at the Citrus Growers Association. When our growers are doing something like this we have to be supportive so we will be supporting with logistics and everything like that.”

Dr. Anderson says that as lopsided as the investment agreement has been, his Association has lived up to its side of the bargain and all they are asking for is reciprocity from the CPBL side.

Dr. Henry Anderson

“What you have right now is essentially four representatives from bank’s holding and you have the CEO of CPBL, Dr. Henry Cantun, Mr. Michael Dunkar who is the Chairman and Mr. Frank Redmund; those three people are sitting in seats that should be for ICL. So, you have seven of the Board members who represent other interest and we only have two people there, Mr. Patrick and Charles Woods who represent our interest. As a result they can think of everything they want to do and do it and in some cases they have done so. So essentially what the growers are saying is that we need these investors to understand that as lopsided as that investment agreement is, we have honored it and worked with it but we will not allow any entity to come into this country and essentially prevent the majority of investors, and this is what is ludicrous about all of this, from having the five people on the board. So, this is just to put a show of solidarity to let them understand that the Citrus Growers Association, the Citrus industry and all stakeholders are not happy with what is going on, and hopefully for them to get the sense that all of these shareholders in the Caribbean, because they are publicly traded to review the type of business practices that they are doing in Belize.”

Patrick Jones, Reporter

So who will be out on the demonstration line tomorrow?

Dr. Henry Anderson

"It will be citrus growers, their workers and other stakeholders with the industry, the truckers and everybody who works with the industry.”

Patrick Jones, Reporter

How many people do you expect for this demonstration and wont this interrupt the work of CGA?

Dr. Henry Anderson

“If it will interrupt the work of CGA well CGA will have to focus on this over the next two days, because when you own an asset such as the CPBL and you don’t have a say in what is happening in it that is priority. So, for the next two day we will be looking at it from the CGA’s point of view to be out there and showing solidarity with our growers.”

Patrick Jones, Reporter

So basically CGA will be closed down for two days?

Dr. Henry Anderson

“No. We will still be conducting business at the Citrus Growers Association. When our growers are doing something like this we have to be supporting, no. so we will be supporting with logistics and everything like that.”

Tomorrow’s demonstration will take place in front of the Citrus Company of Belize facility in Pomona village.

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