By Zoila Palma: Agriculture Minister Rodwell Ferguson is calling for stronger intra-regional trade and improved transportation systems to help Caribbean countries move more food products between markets.
Speaking to BBN, Ferguson said Belize has the capacity to produce more agricultural commodities but faces several barriers to accessing CARICOM markets.
Ferguson identified high production costs as one of the challenges affecting Belize’s competitiveness. “High cost of labour, electricity, agri-inputs, raw materials, fuel and local transport affect the regional competitiveness of some commodities,” he said.
He pointed specifically to rice, saying Belize can increase production but shipping costs make CARICOM exports difficult.
Maritime transportation is another concern for Belize. “Direct and reliable shipping routes between Belize and the Caribbean islands are not very available, are too costly, and the shipments take too long,” he added.
Ferguson also pointed to non-tariff barriers and sanitary and phytosanitary requirements as obstacles. “Even though Belize is self-sufficient in corn, soybeans, rice, beans, animal feeds, beef, pork, poultry and other food items, apart from the traditional exports of citrus concentrates and sugar, we have great difficulty exporting these other products to CARICOM,” he explained.
The post Belize calls for stronger Regional trade to move Caribbean Food across markets appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Zoila Palma: Agriculture Minister Rodwell Ferguson is calling for stronger intra-regional trade and improved transportation systems to help Caribbean countries move more food products between markets. Speaking to BBN, Ferguson said Belize has the capacity to produce more agricultural commodities but faces several barriers to accessing CARICOM markets. Ferguson identified high production costs as
The post Belize calls for stronger Regional trade to move Caribbean Food across markets appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
