BELIZE TRADE WITH THE MAINLAND vs trade with CARICOM is causing us treaty problems.

OUR EMOTIONAL AND PHYSCOLOGICAL TIES WITH CARICOM are complicating our BIGGER TRADE WITH MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA from Belize. We are going to have to choose the most advantageous pretty soon and perhaps SHUCK CARICOM like the ALBA islands and the OECS island Federation they are forming have already done?


Nice foggy morning out here.

Interesting tv debate on tv last night to do with our Foreign Affairs and some other people regarding the new partial trade treaty with Guatemala.

Seems our trucking transportation outfitters within our Belize borders do not yet meet Guatemalan and Central American regulations. In order to get a trucking industry in Belize to ship goods to Central America, our truckers have to upgrade their vehicles and meet Guatemalan standards. At the moment there seems to be only corn & beans which are seasonal, for shipping across the border anyway. Both Belizean and Guatemalan trucks have to dead head, or carry cargos only one way and return empty.

Apparently our ties with CARICOM are hampering our treaty and trade with Central America in the requirements for CARICOM.. Somewhat different than with Central America? Since we do only a very small cottage industry backyard small scale trade with CARICOM, one would think our Foreign Affairs would give preference to Mexico and Central American regulatory requirements? However, the lingering fiasco over our port town Creole population insisting on dealing with CARICOM in some kind of legal FEDERATION even though it is not possible ( no transportation and no foreign exchange over there ) is leaving us at a somewhat disadvantage in trying to broaden existing trade on the mainland here.

In the meantime, the OECS or Eastern Caribbean countries are going it alone, outside of the CARICOM idea, full speed ahead, according to the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis. You are looking at very small islands and very small populations. It would not even pay you to try and sell them anything. Their markets are too small, in a dozen cardboard boxes of something, would be all they could need. Jamaica has no money! They are broke. They have always been broke, ( for 50 years at least ) even in their bauxite shipping glory days.

I see nobody in our bureaucracy has come up with any ideas yet on how we can take advantage of Venezuela and trade? If they have, it must be a deep dark secret? Haven't heard or seen anything likely coming out of the fabulous so called business courses they are teaching in our colleges and universities yet either. At least it is not apparent if any of the new EDUCATED generation are making any money on international trade yet with their degrees? Something wrong with the teaching here? Lots of opportunities!

We have a potential sausage and pepperoni industry in Belize, but don't see anybody doing anything about it yet? For export too!