The Potential in Growing Hemp for Foreign Exchange

The PM said today that the Belize dollar remains strong.  But while the foreign exchange position is holding, there is a need for additional foreign exchange in the very near future, so this is prompting government to get the ball rolling on the budding hemp industry.  While there are a few pilot projects presently being undertaken, PM Barrow sees hemp as the future of big business since there is a huge demand for the tough fiber, which is used to manufacture canvas, rope, paper and cloth.  According to the prime minister, foreign companies are already inquiring about the possibilities of growing hemp in Belize by employing local small farmers.

Dean Barrow

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“Something that I prompted Cabinet on at this last Tuesday’s meeting.  I think can take off, in fact I was told that already pilot projects are in existence and that is the hemp industry.  I mean this hemp thing is huge globally, we’ve now amended the SI to define hemp as the plants, the product that have T.H.C. content of point three percent or lower because that is what the U.S. requires in terms of their legislation.  In Canada it’s different, it’s up to one percent.  But the bottom line is that hemp is huge and if we can get that hemp production going an either, well there are two models, there are some who want to actually process the hemp in Belize, there are others who just want us to export the product and have the processing done in Canada or whatever.  Naturally I would favor the first model, but in all cases, people are talking about coming in to invest and trying to do the growing, the production, themselves.  They are talking about trying to employ farmers, in particular small farmers, to give them the throughput, but that’s an excellent example of one way in which we can push and thereby realize some additional foreign exchange earnings, I am sure that there are others.”

The PM also said that the exportation of cattle to Guatemala and Mexico is to resume.