The May 27, 2020 report from the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) says that “the overall level of economic activity for the country of Belize dropped by 4.5 percent in the first quarter of 2020, when compared to the first quarter of 2019. The total value of goods and services produced within the country during the first three months of the year were valued at $709.6 million dollars, down $33.4 million from $743 million dollars in the first three months of 2019.”

The SIB attributed most of the decline in production to the drought of last year, and the effects of COVID-19.

PRIMARY ACTIVITIES: According to the SIB, this sector “declined by 6.1 percent during the first quarter, down $5.3 million from $86.1 million in 2019 to $80.8 million in 2020.” Sugar deliveries dropped 20.7%, “from 760.8 thousand metric tons delivered in 2019 to 602.9 thousand metric tons in 2020”; citrus fruit production “declined by 3.7% during the period”; banana production decreased by 0.3%; and the fishing industry contracted by 19.3% —with shrimp exports down 46.6% and conch down by 13.1%, and there were no exports of whole fish during the quarter.

The livestock industry grew, with cattle production up 53.3%, and poultry production up 7.1%; however, pig production was down 13.5%.

SECONDARY ACTIVITIES: The SIB reports that the “secondary sector decreased by 13.2% during the first quarter of the year.” The ‘Manufacturing and Mining’ subsector decreased 7.3%, sugar production fell 33%, and citrus concentrate production fell 4% during the quarter.

Water production was up 2.9%, but decreased water levels at the dams resulted in electricity generation plummeting “from 73.1 thousand megawatt hours produced in the first quarter of 2019 to 53.2 thousand megawatt hours produced in the first quarter of 2020.”

Crude petroleum extraction in the first quarter of 2020 was down 3,200 barrels when compared with the quantity that was extracted in the first three months of 2019, beer production was down 33,000 gallons (4.4%) from the 709,600 gallons produced between January and March in 2019, soft drink production was up 4.6%, and the “‘Construction’ subsector saw a 17.3 percent decline, as reflected in decreases in both loans for construction and cement imports for the first quarter of 2020.”

TERTIARY ACTIVITIES: The SIB reported that “production within the tertiary sector totaled $440.2 million in the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of 3.3 percent or $15.2 million, compared to the first quarter of 2019.” A virtual halt in international travel in March 2020 led to the ‘Hotels and Restaurants’ subsector being down by 22.5%. Overnight visitors declined from “roughly 158,500 visitors in the first quarter of 2019 to 123,300 visitors in the same period of 2020… There were approximately 24,000 less American tourists, 3,800 less Canadian tourists and roughly 3,400 less tourists visiting from Europe.”

“Cruise passenger arrivals dropped by 24.9%…the ‘Transport, Storage and Communication’ subsector declined by 8.6%… the ‘Wholesale and Retail Trade’ decreased by 0.2%…. The only industry within the tertiary sector to record a positive growth during the period was ‘Government Services’, which rose by 4.1 percent,” stated the SIB report.

Imports for April 2020 down 30.4% compared to April 2019

The SIB reports that “for the month of April 2020, Belize imported goods valuing $102.6 million…this represented a 30.4 percent or $44.8 million decrease from the same month in 2019, when imports totaled $147.4 million.” The SIB says some of the decrease can be explained by slow clearing of imported cargo because of reduced operating hours during the state of emergency.

DECREASING CATEGORIES: The SIB said “a single small shipment of regular fuel was imported during April of this year, causing the ‘Mineral Fuels and Lubricants’ category to plummet by more than $24 million, from $29.6 million in April 2019 to just $5.1 million in April 2020; the ‘Machinery and Transport Equipment’ category dropped by $12.1 million, from $27.4 million to $15.3 million; the ‘Manufactured Goods’ category (cement, steel rods, metal structures, etc.) declined by $6.8 million during the month, from $20.8 million in April 2019 to a little over $14 million in April 2020.”

The ‘Other Manufactures’ category (books, plastic bottles and T-shirts, etc.) went down by more than $4 million for the month, from $11.8 million to $7.8 million; the ‘Crude Materials’ category (treated pine, etc.) fell by $2.5 million, from $3 million in April 2019 to $0.5 million in April 2020; and the ‘Commercial Free Zones’ category (sweaters, beer, antiperspirants, etc.) diminished by more than $1.4 million, from $14.5 million in April 2019 to $13.1 million in April 2020.

INCREASING CATEGORIES: Despite the fall in overall import numbers, purchases of items deemed essential during the state of emergency grew markedly, as April 2020 saw heightened imports of food items and an uptick in cleaning and sanitizing products.

The SIB report says there was a notable rise in purchases of ‘Food and Live Animals’ and ‘Chemical Products’, with the ‘Food and Live Animals’ category (wheat, chicken sausages, corn seeds, etc.) growing “by 22% or more than $4 million, from $19.1 million in April of last year to $23.2 million in April 2020”, and the ‘Chemical Products’ category (hand sanitizers, disinfectants, etc.) growing “by 25%, or more than $3 million, rising from $12.5 million in April 2019 to $15.6 million in April 2020.”

Domestic exports in April 2020 down 2.7% compared to April 2019

The SIB reports that our “total domestic exports for April 2020 amounted to $47.6 million, down 2.7 percent or $1.3 million when compared to exports for April 2019, which were valued at approximately $49 million.”

DECREASING CATEGORIES: The SIB says earnings from citrus products were down “47% or $4.8 million, from $10.3 million in April 2019 to $5.5 million in April 2020; revenues from bananas went down slightly by $0.6 million, from $8.5 million to $7.9 million; while earnings from marine products also fell marginally during the month by $0.5 million, from $1.7 million to $1.2 million, due to smaller exports of conch.”

INCREASING CATEGORIES: The SIB reported that “revenues from sugar rose by $2.4 million, from $20.9 million to $23.3 million, while sales of molasses also went up by more than $2 million, from just under $0.9 million in April 2019 to $2.9 million in April 2020.”