Chamber of Commerce hosts globalization seminar

The Belize Chamber of Commerce today hosted a one day workshop for its staff and members in Belize City. The workshop is part of the Chamber’s efforts to equip its staff and members with the necessary information the organization feels they need to compete in a globalized economy. According to Narda Garcia, the Chamber’s Marketing Information Specialist, the workshop focussed on the Guatemalan experience in the export promotion of non-traditional products.

Narda Garcia, Marketing Officer, Belize Chamber and Commerce

“Through the kindness of the ambassador of Guatemala, we were told at the Chamber, and we know for a fact that they have had great success in exporting their non-traditional products. And by non-traditional products, I mean anything apart from the sugar, the cane and the banana. And the ambassador kindly offered that he can get this association or the technical people in the association to come and talk to us at the Chamber. First of all to tell us how they function as an association, their mission, their objectives and the mechanisms that they have in place so they can get to their objectives right.

Here in Belize, we are trying to do the same as all Central American countries is going to the route of non-traditional products. Looking for niche markets, which we call and trying to penetrate markets. For example, we have the papaya right now which is doing very well in Corozal, and the peppers which is on and off, but it’s there, and we are trying to look at, the Ministry of Agriculture is trying to push a ground food like cocoa yam, even plantains. We are feeling our way around trying to look for markets and trying to produce what the markets are demanding.”

Other topics discussed at the workshop included, market alternatives for handicrafts and wood products and the exportation of tropical flowers.