DOMESTIC EXPORTS
The August 2020 report of the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) on Belize’s domestic exports for the month show our total earnings for the month was “$32.1 million, down by a sizeable 29.7 percent or $13.6 million when compared to exports for August 2019, which were valued at $45.7 million.”

The SIB says earnings from sugar “were down by $19.6 million, from $23.6 million in August 2019 to a little over $4 million in August 2020” primarily because of the scheduling of shipments”, while earnings from marine products, mainly because of “diminished sales of lobster”, declined by almost $2 million, “from $5.3 million to $3.3 million”; and revenues from red kidney beans, which earned $1.9 million in August 2019, were nil.

On the bright side, crude petroleum, which generated no earnings in August 2019, was a source of $4.9 million of earnings in August 2020, as we made our first shipment for this year; banana earnings “grew by $2.4 million, from $5.7 million in August 2019 to $8.1 million in August 2020”; “earnings from citrus products rose marginally by $0.5 million, from $4 million to $4.5 million”; and earnings from sales of molasses went up “from $1.8 million to $2.9 million.”

The figures for domestic exports for the first eight months of 2020 show a decline of 15.7%, with total earnings falling by $46.9 million, from $299.4 million in Jan-Aug 2019, to $252.5 million in the same period this year.

Revenues from sugar declined “by almost 28 percent…from $110.2 million in 2019 to $79.6 million in 2020”; “earnings from citrus products decreased by approximately 20 percent… from $42.6 million to $34.3 million, due in large part to lower world market prices for orange concentrate”; total earnings from crude petroleum was down 62%, “from $12.9 million in 2019 to $4.9 million in 2020”; export earnings from marine products was down 6%, “from $25.2 million to $23.6 million”; and “earnings from animal feed fell from $10.5 million in 2019 to $8.7 million in 2020.”

On the bright side, in the eight-month period bananas earned $57.2 million, compared to $53 million in 2019; “revenues from red kidney beans rose from $9.1 million to $10.2 million, while earnings from black-eyed peas grew from $4.1 million in 2019 to $5.1 million in 2020.”

IMPORTS
The SIB says imports for August 2020 “were valued at $143.7 million…a decrease of 15.2 percent or $25.8 million from imports for August 2019, which totaled $169.5 million.”

Imports into the ‘Commercial Free Zones’ decreased “from $30.3 million in August 2019 to $17.5 million in August 2020”; reduced imports of butane, regular and bunker C fuels and no imports of premium and kerosene fuels led to reduced expenditure in the ‘Mineral Fuels and Lubricants’ category, “from $20.1 million in August 2019 to almost $9 million in August 2020”; imports in the ‘Manufactured Goods’ category fell from $23.6 million to $19.2 million; and “lessened purchases of beverage machinery, laptops and telecommunications equipment” led to a decrease in the ‘Machinery and Transport Equipment’ category, from $36.6 million in August 2019 to $34.1 million in August 2020.

There was more importation of some foods, including breakfast cereals, malt and margarine, and the value of imports in the ‘Food and Live Animals’ category went up…from $17.7 million in August 2019 to $21.1 million in August 2020; increased imports of herbicides, insecticides and disinfectants pushed expenditure in “the ‘Chemical Products’ category, from $16.1 million in August of last year to $18.1 million in August of this year”; and cost of imports in the ‘Designated Processing Areas’ category “went from just over $2 million (2019) to $3.7 million (2020).”

In the first eight months of 2020 Belize imported $1.1 billion worth of goods, $244.8 million less than we imported last year during the same period.

The cost of imports in the ‘Mineral Fuels and Lubricants’ category declined “by almost 43 percent or $85.7 million, from more than $201 million in 2019 to $115.3 million in 2020”; “smaller imports of goods such as bags and clothing” led the cost of purchases in the ‘Commercial Free Zones’ category to fall “from $213.8 million to $150.1 million”; cost of imports in the ‘Machinery and Transport Equipment’ category went “from $256.2 million in 2019 to $215.4 million in 2020”. Also, there was less importation of construction materials, and the ‘Manufactured Goods’ category fell “from $176.3 million in 2019 to $150.7 million in 2020”.

The SIB report said, “‘Other Manufactures’ shrank…from $94.1 million to $77.5 million; less importation of treated pine lumber, used clothing and wooden poles over the period resulted in a fall in the ‘Crude Materials’ category, from $22.4 million in 2019 to $14.5 million in 2020; reduced imports of fertilizers, plastic pipes and medicines drove the ‘Chemical Products’ category down…from $120.6 million in 2019 to $116.1 million in 2020; imports in the ‘Designated Processing Areas’ decreased… from $22.5 million to $21.2 million.”

While most categories of imports declined, the ‘Oils and Fats’ category actually saw increased imports of cooking oils such as olive oil, and this “led to a $2.6 million growth in that category, from $13.2 million in 2019 to $15.8 million in 2020.”

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
The SIB reported a marginal increase of 0.1% in the “cost of regularly purchased goods and services” in August 2020, when compared to August 2019.

The SIB says, “the ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ category saw prices increasing by 1.4 percent in August 2020 when compared to August 2019…noticeably higher prices were recorded for tomatoes, cabbages, limes and potatoes, as well as for products such as whole chickens, rice, red kidney beans, eggs and natural milk, (however these prices were) partially mitigated by reduced prices for other food items, including ground beef, pork chops, pineapples and sweet peppers.”

The cost of transportation in August 2020 decreased by 0.3% when compared to August 2019, but “the ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ category recorded an increase of 0.8 percent… the result of a 1.4 percent increase in home rental costs for the month, as higher rental prices were recorded in the municipalities of Belize City, Belmopan, San Ignacio/Santa Elena Town and Punta Gorda Town.” However, according to the SIB, this increase “was partially balanced out by lower LPG prices, which fell by 20.4 percent, with the average cost of a 100-pound cylinder falling by $23.63 from $115.90 in August 2019 to $92.28 in August 2020.”

The SIB said, “Consumer prices across ‘All Other Categories of Goods and Services’ saw an average 0.7 percent dip… this decline was driven by lower prices in the ‘Recreation and Culture’ category, which was down by 1.7 percent; the ‘Clothing and Footwear’ category saw a 1.2 percent decrease, as a result of lower prices for women’s and men’s clothing; (but) the effect of these decreases was partly counterbalanced by an increase of 0.9 percent in the ‘Health’ category, which was the result of higher prices for several pharmaceutical products.”