Symposium plans national export strategy
In today’s global financial system exports are the lifeblood of a nation’s economy. Just where Belize fits in to this reality was the subject of a meeting today at Old Belize. News Five’s Janelle Chanona reports.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
This morning, the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service organized a one day symposium for local producers to discuss the draft of the Belize National Export Strategy.
David Gomez, Coordinator, Belize National Export Strategy
?It means that the traditional way of doing business for Belize has to change.?
According to coordinator of the strategy, David Gomez, with the loss of preferential access and higher international standards on the world market Belizean businesses must adapt to survive.
David Gomez
?For Beltraide, what they have to do is they have to be able to build competency and skills to understand markets, to analyze those markets and be able to translate what they have learnt from that for Belizean producers and exporters, so they can understand. If I am trying to get into Caribbean these are the challenges that I would face, this is the type of product people are looking for, and these are the standards that I need to meet and that is the kind of capacity we need to build when I talk about the export performance process.?
As part of the strategy, Beltraide will champion success stories.
Marie Sharp, Managing Dir., Marie Sharp Fine Foods
?I?m Marie Sharp and my position with the company is managing director, but really I?m chief cook and bottle washer.?
Marie Sharp started her business in her home kitchen in the Stann Creek Valley. Today her ?Fine Foods? are in supermarkets across the world.
Janelle Chanona
?If you could give your colleagues, counterparts one piece of advice, what would it be??
Marie Sharp
?Just produce quality products and that will help you to get out there, and of course you also need to get HACCP. Every country today is asking for you to be HACCP certified and if you are not HACCP certified you cannot get out there. We are waiting on our certification right now. As soon as we manage that we are going to eight more countries through the Japanese we are going into France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Guam, Taiwan, Russia and Korea. But we have to become HACCP certified.?
According to Beltraide, Citrus Products of Belize Limited is another southern industry poised to break into international markets in a big way with non-traditional exports.
But experts warn that without support from all sectors, a national strategy isn?t worth the paper it?s printed on.
Issac Njoroge, Commonwealth Secretariat, U.K.
?It?s so easy to develop a strategy like the one we are talking about here. But the most difficult thing is the implementation and that?s the reason for the people who are going to implement it to be involved in its formulation.?
Natascha Weisert, International Trade Centre
?This is only a document; it is only a means to an end. What will matter then is that the strategy be implemented. Only this way can we achieve its objectives and reap the benefits from the overall design process. Implementing the strategy, managing the implementation and monitoring the impact of that strategy will be a very challenging tasks and they will require hands on engagement by most of you here in this room.
Reporting for News Five, I am Janelle Chanona.
