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On Monday, there will be a heated battle in court over whether or not Belize City Importer Jack Charles should be allowed to import Guyanese Rice.

And while he waits for the court, the holdup is costing Jack Charles. He told us today that as far as he is aware, he's being charged by the Port of Big $100 a day per container for the storage space on in his compound. That means that he owes the Port $300 daily for the containers, and then he must also pay the shipping line $150 for the use of the containers. So, in total, that's $450 per day.

He's been incurring these costs since Friday, and so as of this evening, he owes $2,700 in rental fees, which will continue to increase by $450 every day that his rice is stuck at the Big Creek Port.

By Monday, when the case is set to start, he'll owe $4,950, and so his legal team will press the court to expedite the case. By that time, there could be further delays due to the court process, and the rental fees could sky rocket – which might suit BAHA and the government just fine.

Of course, Charles also intends to pass on that cost to the Government, since he contends that it is there seizure of his rice that has caused this situation, therefore he reasons that it's their fault.

He's asking the court to review BAHA's decision to detain his rice and refuse to issue him an importation permit. The Solicitor General's Office, with Deputy Solicitor General Nigel Hawke as lead attorney, will represent BAHA, while Leeroy Banner will represent Jack Charles. The Local Rice Producers have retained Eamon Courtenay as their attorney, and even though they are not being sued at this time, they've applied to court to be joined as an interested party, since the outcome of this case could affect them.