Direction of Visible Trade
Higher sales of petroleum, citrus juices and papaya boosted the share of exports going to the US from 32.4% to 46.3% resulting in that country remaining Belize’s lead export market. While the UK’s share fell from 31.7% to 25.7% as the plummeting of sugar sales outweighed increased banana exports, improved citrus juice sales resulted in a marginal increase in the share of other EU countries.
Treaty Energy Announces Additional Equipment Scheduled for Shipment to Belize
Source: Your Industry News Published 1st Aug, 2011 Treaty Energy Corporation (OTCQB: TECO), a growth-oriented energy company in the oil and gas industry, today announced it has purchased additional equipment to send to Belize on the next ship out of Mobile, Alabama, which is estimated to depart on or about August 8th. The purchased equipment includes a Wichitech C-65 [...]
Treaty Energy Announces Developments and Activities in Belize
Treaty Energy Corporation (OTCQB: TECO), a growth-oriented energy company in the oil and gas industry, today reported on developments in Belize leading up to the implementation of its initial eight well drilling program.
Belize Economy: Manufacturing – Citrus Juices, Citrus Oil and Pulp
Citrus juice production shrank by 28.1% to 28.0mn ps reflecting a 21.1% drop in citrus deliveries and lower juice outturn per box of fruit. With orange accounting for the greater portion of the crop, an 8.8% fall in its average juice yield per box masked a 7.2% increase in the average juice out-turn per box of grapefruit.
Belize Economy: Manufacturing – Sugar and Molasses
Notwithstanding the bumper harvest, sugar production declined by 4.5% to 88,144 long tons due to poor sugarcane quality caused in part by the start- up problems of the cogeneration plant and exacerbated by the extension of harvesting into the rainy season. Factory hiccups increased the kill-to-mill time and consequent deterioration of sugars in the queued sugarcane, while harvesting into the rainy season led to an 81.0% increase in the quantity of mud in sugarcane delivered to the factory. As a result, the sucrose content of sugarcane declined to a pol of 10.82% compared to 12.32% in 2008/09 and the cane/sugar ratio deteriorated from 9.93 to 12.73. Molasses production, on the other hand, expanded by 90.5% to 54,248 long tons, reflecting its negative correlation with sugar output.
Belize Economy: Domestic Production – Papaya, Agriculture and Marine
Output of papaya expanded by 22.0% to 66.7mn pounds as a 9.4% decline in productive acreage was offset by higher yields arising from improved agronomic practices and favorable weather. At year- end, the area under production stood at 1,135 acres, of which 573 acres had harvestable trees and 562 acres were under young non-producing trees. Most of the acreage under cultivation was in the Corozal District with the Orange Walk and Cayo Districts maintaining groves of only 30 acres and 8 acres, respectively.
Belize Economy: Domestic Production – Banana
A first quarter production spurt that was partly the result of the industry’s meristem investments was followed by a second quarter marked by unfavorable weather that hindered plant development and fruit maturation. This caused farmers to reduce their productive acreage and increase the area under rehabilitation. Output levels consequently staggered, resulting in a 3.2% decline in annual banana production to 4.3mn boxes.
Belize Economy: Domestic Production – Citrus
Factory deliveries were down by 21.1% with orange deliveries plummeting by 30.2% to 3.9mn boxes. The latter usually accounts for upward of 70.0% of the citrus harvest and the smaller crop in
2010 reflected the cyclical nature of the Valencia variety of citrus trees as well as reduced usage of field inputs during the growing season by cash squeezed farmers. On the other hand, deliveries of grapefruit were up by 23.7% to 1.4mn boxes as improved prices provided a crop harvesting incentive for farmers.
