BELMOPAN, Belize – Belize is taking steps to revive its shrimp industry that was bringing in revenue close to BDZ$100 million (One BDZ$=US$0.49 cents) annually up to 2014.
Agriculture Minister, Jose Mai, has appointed the Shrimp Industry Task Force to address the limitations of the industry and chart a way forward
Chairman of the Shrimp Industry Task Force, Hugh O’Brien, will over the next three months will be leading a diverse team from both the public and private sectors and O’Brien said that emphasis will be on the implementation of modern technologies that aid in increasing shrimp production throughout local farms.
“Back in 2014 the industry reached a high production level, reached almost 16 million pounds of shrimp. Belize was a major exporter of shrimp. We exported close to a BDZ$100 million worth of shrimp, about 94 or 95 million in shrimp exports and then we were hit with the early mortality syndrome and the industry crumbled to the point where for the last couple of years production has hovered between one and two million pounds, barely enough to supply the local market. “
O’Brien said that the task force was put together with a view to assess where things are with the industry, find out what are some of the real challenges and constraints that the industry is facing, and in light of the fact that there is new technology that has been proven to work in Belize.
According to O’Brien, a revived shrimp industry can take advantage of several export markets, including Taiwan, whose government has already expressed interest in purchasing Belize’s shrimp. O’Brien noted that of the 16 shrimp farms that existed a decade ago, only seven are still operational. He said the task force also seek to make recommendations on how the industry can once again expand to include more players.
“Of course, we already know that technology is going to be one component, but there are other components that we have identified that needs to be looked at. One of them for example is our market options.
“We had been exporting shrimp before to numerous European countries. We were certified. The Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) was certified to look at these, whenever BAHA gives the shrimp farms their certification the EU would accept that like Bible and just do some audits.
“We also had access to the Mexican market and even Taiwan has expressed their interest, and Taiwan is a major importer of shrimp, they use to import shrimps from Nicaragua and because of the ties that has been severed between those two countries they have expressed interest in buying shrimp from Belize,” O’ Brien added.
He said over the coming months the task force will be looking at some of the conditions Belize would have to meet to enter the markets, noting “some of these things come with cost implications especially at the level of BAHA”.
