Citrus Industry Hanging On by a Thin Thread, Despite GOB’s Assistance
The citrus industry remains in dire straits and is teetering on the brink of failure, despite all attempts by the Government of Belize to bail it out of financial collapse. The unpleasant state of the industry is nothing new, however, the situation has only gotten worse. This morning, News Five also spoke with the Minister of Agriculture regarding the circumstances surrounding the industry. Its prognosis, Mai says, remains grim.
Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture
“The citrus industry is in a very bad position.”
Hipolito Novelo
“In a coma.”
Jose Abelardo Mai
Jose Abelardo Mai
“We tried to resuscitate. We injected, we had fifteen million dollars at DFC but the farmers did not take it up. They did not take it up because from what we understand the price per box of citrus went down or they were offered less and the farmers believe that at that price it was unsustainable. So if they borrowed the money they would not be able to pay it back. So, citrus is in a very bad position. The largest producer right now is also bulldozing down his citrus plants. CPBL, there‘s another plant now operating, but we have very few acres, the disease has just devastated and the price paid to the farmers did not help. It did not incentivize, we were hoping that that would have increased a little because the price on the world market went high, but it did not go in that direction. And so, the farmers decided that they cannot take any loans at the price that they are paying us, and so, it‘s not in a very good position.”
Hipolito Novelo
“How did we get to this point, because it wasn‘t a sudden thing.”
Jose Abelardo Mai
“Oh no, actually this began in 2008 when the new government took over. There was a fight in the industry and that fight went on and went on. There was a disease. The disease hit us and it hit Costa Rica too. It hit all of Central America but these countries managed well. The government put policies in place, they created the environment and they rebounded. In this case, it went unattended from 2008 to 2020. And so, when we received it, it was in bad shape and there were some… We managed to get some money to pump into the industry but then the prices went down and so it’s difficult.”
