by Kristen Ku
BELIZE CITY, Wed. Dec. 13, 2023
In a recent release dated December 13, 2023, the Statistical Institute of Belize presented the country’s external trade report for October 2023, revealing a decline in both imports and domestic exports for that month.
October’s imports fell by 3.4%, amounting to $243.3 million, a decrease from the previous year’s $251.8 million. Significant reductions were noted in ‘Commercial Free Zones’ and ‘Manufactured Goods’.
Conversely, the ‘Mineral Fuels and Lubricants’ category saw an increase due to the higher cost of diesel.
As mentioned, there was a decline in imports for ‘Commercial Free Zones’ by almost $8.8 million when compared with October 2022 — down to a total of $38.5 million; imports of ‘Manufactured Goods’ fell by $8.3 million, to almost $30 million; and imports of ‘Chemical Products’ declined by $3.2 million, to a total of $26.2 million in October of this year.
Declines were also noted in the categories of ‘Designated Processing Areas’, ‘Other Manufactures’, and ‘Beverages and Tobacco,’ which were down by $3.1 million, $2.7 million, and $2.2 million, respectively.
Imports of ‘Mineral Fuels and Lubricants’ and ‘Machinery and Transport Equipment’, however, both increased, with the amount spent on the former rising by $17.9 million, from $16.8 million in October 2022 to $34.7 million in October 2023; and the amount spent on the latter going up by $2.7 million, from $51.6 million to $54.3 million.
Domestic exports — totaling $28.5 million for October — declined by 28.8% from the value of exports recorded in October of last year. Earnings from marine products declined by 36%, and sugar earnings by 28%, while revenue from banana exports dipped from $8.5 million to $8.2 million, and revenue from animal feed sales fell by $2.9 million, from $5.3 million to $2.4 million when compared to last October.
There was a small increase in earnings from exports of citrus products, however — from $0.2 million to $0.5 million.
Major shifts in export destinations were observed, with a decline being observed in exports to the European Union from Belize, particularly seafood and citrus products.
In the first ten months of 2023, there was a decrease in ‘Merchandise Exports’ by $17.5% or $76.8 million from the same period last year.