(BBC) The government of Belize has stepped in with a US$5million loan to bailout the company which runs the sugar industry.
The severe lack of cash at Belize Sugar Industries threatened the start of the crop next month and the very future of the sector, according to officials.
The situation came to a head when bankers withdrew a credit facility to the company.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow defended the loan, which was being described as a short-term solution.
He said: “I don’t think any red-blooded Belizean would say government wasted 10 million (BZ) dollars of taxpayers money.”