Fishing Coop Members Facing Competition

Jose Abelardo Mai

Today, Minister Mai toured the National Fisheries Cooperative on North Front Street in Belize City.  His ministry has been getting reports that fishing cooperatives are facing fierce competition from private entities.  These have a wider array of marine products and also pay fishers more for their catch.

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security & Enterprise

“People want to have that freedom to decide who they want to sell to. What this does, though, is that it makes any organization now – have to be more competitive. They have to be better managers, and they have to lower their costs. This again is competition and it forces the organizations now to manage their business well. There are many cooperatives that are indebted to their neck and many times it is the administrators. There was a cooperative in Orange Walk, the Honeybees Cooperative, it closed down because they were so indebted.”