BELIZE STRENGTHENS SOCIALIST TIES WITH VENEZUELA AND CUBA
by Ray Auxillou, August, 2010
Heart defect patients for children, up to the age of 15 years agreement, speeds up with Venezuela new hospital. Primary among the services provided by the new CHILDREN’S HEART SPECIALITY HOSPITAL IN VENEZUELA are treatment for Atrial septal defect ( Hole in the heart) Septal, GTetralogy of Fallot, Patent ductus arteriousus, Pulmonary Stenosis, Aortic Stenosis
Presently the new hospital in Venezuela, called the Gilberto Rodriguez Ochoa children’s HOSPITAL is now accepting other socialist country patients. Last year this Venezuelan hospital performed 1100 heart operations on children. Ten years ago such a hospital was a dream of President Chavez. At the time, they were only performing operations on 141 patients annually.
Belize is a SOCIALIST/capitalist country on the Scandinavian country models. While Venezuela also espouses Medical SOCIALISM, particularly in the field of medical treatments and preventative diseases, the type of SOCIALISM differs in the ALBA Federation GROUP of countries. The three major players in the ALBA confederation; Ecuador, Venezuela and Nicaragua lean toward STALINIST DICTATORSHIP socialism of old, though today they call it PRESIDENT FOR LIFE and eliminate your opposition and checks and balances in the EXECUTIVE BRANCHES. Belize does not belong to the ALBA CONFEDERATION due to the foreign policy requirements of joining. Belize is a signatory in foreign affairs, to joint representation with members in CARICOM countries and also within the growing confederation of the CENTRAL AMERICAN countries. These countries both in CARICOM and CENTRAL AMERICA often vote differently from each other, in international bodies like the United Nations and the OAS, based on economic self interest and not from ideology. While Belize is slowly strengthening the democratic process and that of checks and balances in the EXECUTIVE, the ALBA group major three players are moving the other way, to solidifying the dictatorship model, as an example the CASTRO BROTHERS of Cuba, or of RUSSIA under PUTIN. The idea in Belize is to be able to change your governing political party on regular cycles when dissatisfied with the results.
Socialism is an expensive method of governing and the WISH LIST of priorities is endless, as bureaucrats dream up new things to do for the people of the country to make their life better. Belize does not plain have the money and unlike OIL RICH countries, we are an AGRARIAN country, with a tiny population and miniscule tax revenues.
Enter the alliances with CUBA and VENEZUELA in the medical health field. Because Belize is a tropical country, preventative medicine is a TOP PRIORITY. Already a disease like YELLOW FEVER has been eliminated through the use of DDT. Malaria, the occasional hepatitis and Dengue fever illnesses occasionally crop up, imported from neighboring countries during the rainy season. The NEW system in Belize of PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE which is a SOCIALIST SYSTEM, based on the thinking that prevention is cheaper than trying to cure diseases and health problems, after they become gargantuan and uncontrolled. Today, the medical prevention takes the form of FREE SOCIALIST POLY CLINICS, one in each political district, staffed both by Belizeans and the CUBAN SOCIALIST dictatorship MEDICAL BRIGADE, nurses and doctors. Private clinics, hospitals and doctors also provide medical services in competition with the POLY CLINICS. There are far more private practitioners of medicine and private clinics than government socialist medical services. You have different choices of medical treatment in Belize. Because the Belize population is small, scattered through 6000 square miles of terrain ( about 350,000 pop.) some specialist medical treatments do not exist. Heart operations are one, eye operations for encroaching blindness is another. We are also in need of a burn treatment hospital serving the socialist countries. VENEZUELA and BELIZE are now joining hands in SOCIALIST beliefs and what Belize cannot afford, OIL RICH Venezuela is providing to her fellow socialist neighbors, such as here in Belize. For which we are very grateful.
There is a big debate in the USA about socialist medicine, as expressed by the systems in CANADA and most European countries and now Belize. In the USA more than 55 % of the population are denied medical treatment under the capitalist ROBBER BARON MEDICAL CARTELS, coupled with INSURANCE CARTELS with a Congress bought and paid for by the cartels is our impression from the news programs. Capitalism running wild we call it. The only medical treatment available to this USA majority population, is SELF MEDICATION from ‘over the counter’ drugs from a commercial retail drugstore. We do not believe in this, in our more advanced world.
The new agreement for children’s heart operations was by the Hon. Minister of Health of Belize, Pablo Marin and Mr. Gabriel Sanchez, the Charge d’ affairs of the Venezuelan Embassy. Also present at the meeting were our Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Peter Allen, along with Dr. Michael Pitts, Director of Health Service in Belize and Mr. Sanchez of the Venezuelan Embassy. The committee is now setting up the protocols and a point focal figure responsible for selection of patients and determining the structure of admissions and transportation for this new socialist medical program.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
BELIZE CITRUS GROWERS NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS ARE POLITICAL OPPORTUNISTS?
CITRUS GROWERS ASSOCIATION FLOUNDERING UNDER NEW ELECTED BOARD
This is an OPINION article from impressions and the opinions are solely my own.
By Ray Auxillou, August, 2010
The struggle for control of the Citrus Factory is going to end in disaster. What opinion I’ve formed, as a non-participant, is that the CITRUS FACTORY as an independent legal entity needs to be kept separate from the CGA.
The Board is made up of the CGA shareholders who have the majority, but do not control decisions totally, because of the clauses in the INVESTMENT AGREEMENT by the $65 million dollars spent by the minority shareholder, BANKS HOLDINGS to build the factory and marketing system.
What is needed is to keep the FACTORY as an independent company based on the profit and well financed motive. In order to make a success of the citrus industry. With two sets of shareholders, all either can really expect, or should expect from their participation and investment is the return on DIVIDENDS to be shared by either side shareholders. How the CGA divide that among their couple thousand producers I don’t know? It is however, THEIR PROBLEM. This BOARD of the CGA should be dealing with this problem and that of better grove maintainance. Siphoning money out of the FACTORY is NOT THE ANSWER.
The actions of the current BOARD OF DIRECTORS of the CITRUS GROWERS ASSOCIATION reek of the smell of opportunism. I have formed the impression over the months of debate on television, that the new BOARD are nothing more than opportunists, POLITICIANS if you will, playing on the emotions of the small growers they are representing. In return for their misleading actions, they are pushing an agenda that seemingly wants to turn both the CITRUS FACTORY and the CITRUS GROWERS ASSOCIATION into a gravy train, to get money for per diems, expense trips, Board Directors fees, both from the CGA and also from the Citrus Factory and any other intermediary legal entity holding the CGA shares. They also apparently have the ultimate goal of turning the CITRUS FACTORY and the CGA growers into a COOPERATIVE. The CGA is a cooperative in fact, if not title, as an association. However the FACTORY must in my opinion; be kept separate as a legal business entity, without giving this CGA BOARD the opportunity to wreck the CITRUS FACTORY COMPANY finances. Obviously if this CGA BOARD have their way, they will take out monies and make the FACTORY borrow loans, to favor their voting constituents in the CGA and to HELL with the CITRUS INDUSTRY. This BOARD is looking at short term, money for their personal management services on which they can live well, if not totally to the exclusion of anything else. In the end, they will wreck the FACTORY company and also by implication, make the CGA members worse off than before. They would if allowed, trample over their minority foreign investors shares.
It has been done before and one can see the writing on the wall, that this is the goal of this CGA Board of Directors, acting not in the best interests of the citrus industry, but in their OWN INTERESTS, milking the cow for their own purposes.
It would be better indeed, if they get $65 million and buy out the minority shareholders. I doubt anybody lending money in their right mind would lend the CGA this amount though? Their industry management skills are ZERO! If they were any good, they would be finding ways to improve the citrus trees and small grower groves through cooperative effort of their membership. It can be done, look at any fishing cooperative as an example. If their voters and membership want more money the only LOGICAL way to get that, is to see the FACTORY makes TONS of profits and give a hefty dividend to be shared among their CGA membership. That is the long term PROPER WAY of dealing with this. Not the way this new CGA BOARD OF DIRECTORS are operating.
This is an OPINION article from impressions and the opinions are solely my own.
By Ray Auxillou, August, 2010
The struggle for control of the Citrus Factory is going to end in disaster. What opinion I’ve formed, as a non-participant, is that the CITRUS FACTORY as an independent legal entity needs to be kept separate from the CGA.
The Board is made up of the CGA shareholders who have the majority, but do not control decisions totally, because of the clauses in the INVESTMENT AGREEMENT by the $65 million dollars spent by the minority shareholder, BANKS HOLDINGS to build the factory and marketing system.
What is needed is to keep the FACTORY as an independent company based on the profit and well financed motive. In order to make a success of the citrus industry. With two sets of shareholders, all either can really expect, or should expect from their participation and investment is the return on DIVIDENDS to be shared by either side shareholders. How the CGA divide that among their couple thousand producers I don’t know? It is however, THEIR PROBLEM. This BOARD of the CGA should be dealing with this problem and that of better grove maintainance. Siphoning money out of the FACTORY is NOT THE ANSWER.
The actions of the current BOARD OF DIRECTORS of the CITRUS GROWERS ASSOCIATION reek of the smell of opportunism. I have formed the impression over the months of debate on television, that the new BOARD are nothing more than opportunists, POLITICIANS if you will, playing on the emotions of the small growers they are representing. In return for their misleading actions, they are pushing an agenda that seemingly wants to turn both the CITRUS FACTORY and the CITRUS GROWERS ASSOCIATION into a gravy train, to get money for per diems, expense trips, Board Directors fees, both from the CGA and also from the Citrus Factory and any other intermediary legal entity holding the CGA shares. They also apparently have the ultimate goal of turning the CITRUS FACTORY and the CGA growers into a COOPERATIVE. The CGA is a cooperative in fact, if not title, as an association. However the FACTORY must in my opinion; be kept separate as a legal business entity, without giving this CGA BOARD the opportunity to wreck the CITRUS FACTORY COMPANY finances. Obviously if this CGA BOARD have their way, they will take out monies and make the FACTORY borrow loans, to favor their voting constituents in the CGA and to HELL with the CITRUS INDUSTRY. This BOARD is looking at short term, money for their personal management services on which they can live well, if not totally to the exclusion of anything else. In the end, they will wreck the FACTORY company and also by implication, make the CGA members worse off than before. They would if allowed, trample over their minority foreign investors shares.
It has been done before and one can see the writing on the wall, that this is the goal of this CGA Board of Directors, acting not in the best interests of the citrus industry, but in their OWN INTERESTS, milking the cow for their own purposes.
It would be better indeed, if they get $65 million and buy out the minority shareholders. I doubt anybody lending money in their right mind would lend the CGA this amount though? Their industry management skills are ZERO! If they were any good, they would be finding ways to improve the citrus trees and small grower groves through cooperative effort of their membership. It can be done, look at any fishing cooperative as an example. If their voters and membership want more money the only LOGICAL way to get that, is to see the FACTORY makes TONS of profits and give a hefty dividend to be shared among their CGA membership. That is the long term PROPER WAY of dealing with this. Not the way this new CGA BOARD OF DIRECTORS are operating.
Expect a lot of companies to go into receivership in Belize.
TAKEN FROM THE BELIZE CULTURE DEBATING LISTSERVE Politics and banking results!
http://www.guardian.bz/component/content/article/53-headlines/2139-9-belizean-entities-owe-over-4827m-to-belize-bank-eugene-zabaneh-group-in-trouble
9 Belizean entities owe over $482.7M to Belize Bank - Eugene Zabaneh Group in trouble Print E-mail
( 0 Votes )
Written by Administrator
Thursday, 05 August 2010 00:00
Eugene ZabanehEugene ZabanehOver the past two weeks the Guardian has been following the Belize Bank’s loan portfolio activity. In our investigations we’ve determined that the bank has activated a Group Risk Unit which is tasked with collecting some 28 percent of the bank’s loan portfolio which is delinquent. That represents 206.9 million dollars of a total 680.4 million dollars. While the figures are alarming, what’s more so is that the Guardian has been reliably informed that, as at December of 2009, there
were nine principals who hold an impressive 482.7 million dollars in loans from the Belize Bank.
One group in particular is controlled by Eugene Zabaneh which up to December of 2009 held loans amounting to a hefty 52.1 million dollars. These loans are spread over personal loans and those of six companies. Significant loans include a 16 million US dollar loan to Santa Ana Dev. Co. LTD., US 10 million to Maya Island Air, 10 million dollars to Riversdale Dev. LTD, U.S. $7 million to Eugene Zabaneh and other loans. While the portfolio is significant, what is worrying is the fact that these loans are bordering on going into default. With the presence of the GRU at the Belize Bank, it would mean that the ‘forgive no sins’ mentality will kick in and the Zabaneh group may be at risk of running into receivership.
It is quite a fiasco which we’ll keep monitoring but to which we can add a bit of light. During the inauguration of Maya Island Air’s international flights in July of 2009, present were Ralph Fonseca and Said Musa. Under what capacity they were there is unknown; however, judging from their history of how they managed the finances of Belize during their ten year tenure of office, and if they were somehow involved in the finances or even just in giving advice to Zabaneh it would explain a lot. The group is now floundering and even if just by association maybe, just maybe, Ralph and Said may have something to do with it. In the end, it would appear that anything these two are involved with somehow ends up bad.
http://www.guardian.bz/component/content/article/53-headlines/2139-9-belizean-entities-owe-over-4827m-to-belize-bank-eugene-zabaneh-group-in-trouble
9 Belizean entities owe over $482.7M to Belize Bank - Eugene Zabaneh Group in trouble Print E-mail
( 0 Votes )
Written by Administrator
Thursday, 05 August 2010 00:00
Eugene ZabanehEugene ZabanehOver the past two weeks the Guardian has been following the Belize Bank’s loan portfolio activity. In our investigations we’ve determined that the bank has activated a Group Risk Unit which is tasked with collecting some 28 percent of the bank’s loan portfolio which is delinquent. That represents 206.9 million dollars of a total 680.4 million dollars. While the figures are alarming, what’s more so is that the Guardian has been reliably informed that, as at December of 2009, there
were nine principals who hold an impressive 482.7 million dollars in loans from the Belize Bank.
One group in particular is controlled by Eugene Zabaneh which up to December of 2009 held loans amounting to a hefty 52.1 million dollars. These loans are spread over personal loans and those of six companies. Significant loans include a 16 million US dollar loan to Santa Ana Dev. Co. LTD., US 10 million to Maya Island Air, 10 million dollars to Riversdale Dev. LTD, U.S. $7 million to Eugene Zabaneh and other loans. While the portfolio is significant, what is worrying is the fact that these loans are bordering on going into default. With the presence of the GRU at the Belize Bank, it would mean that the ‘forgive no sins’ mentality will kick in and the Zabaneh group may be at risk of running into receivership.
It is quite a fiasco which we’ll keep monitoring but to which we can add a bit of light. During the inauguration of Maya Island Air’s international flights in July of 2009, present were Ralph Fonseca and Said Musa. Under what capacity they were there is unknown; however, judging from their history of how they managed the finances of Belize during their ten year tenure of office, and if they were somehow involved in the finances or even just in giving advice to Zabaneh it would explain a lot. The group is now floundering and even if just by association maybe, just maybe, Ralph and Said may have something to do with it. In the end, it would appear that anything these two are involved with somehow ends up bad.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Belize Citrus Growers have 90 days to find $65 million.
CITRUS GROWERS HAVE 90 DAYS TO BUY OUT $65 MILLION CITRUS FACTORY SHAREHOLDER
Citrus Growers Association unable to convince minority shareholder ( Bank Holding ) to change the INVESTMENT AGREEMENT of $65 million that built the modernized factory.
The CGA though the majority shareholder are stuck with the investment agreement that the lawyers for the minority shareholder Banks Holding of the Eastern Caribbean drew up to protect the investment. Which gives the minority shareholder veto power over some Board members.
So far, the minority investor wants the Chairman of the Board of their choice and the Citrus Growers Association want the Board chairman, of their choice. The two sides are at odds.
Behind the sweet talk and blarney put forth by professional politician on the Board for the Citrus Growers Association, ( forget his name ) the fact is; that the CITRUS GROWERS ASSOCIATION want to loot, plunder and rape the earnings of the Citrus Factory. Right now they get their dividends, just like the minority shareholder. What they want is control of the Board of Directors, which in numbers of shares they have, but technically they haven’t, because of clauses in the INVESTMENT AGREEMENT of Banks Holdings, the minority shareholder has protections. These protections are to see that the citrus factory operates on a business like basis, that earnings go into maintainance and marketing to keep the factory operating at a profitable level, separate from the CGA investors group. That money pays off existing debts, and dividends are paid to both shareholders, the minority investor of $65 million and the CGA group.
What the CGA group want is to loot the earnings of the factory by controlling the Board. So far, they cannot even agree to elect a CHAIRMAN. Stalemate! The CGA are talking about buying out the minority shareholder, but that would take $65 million and they already have huge debts from mismanagement of the previous smaller factory that existed back to colonial times. My understanding is they have 90 days to put up or shut up! Nobody expects this bunch of wasteful pirates in the CGA to shut up though.
The historical past is that the CGA group has looted the factory revenues before. It doesn’t matter how much sweet talk, about fertilizing poorly maintained trees in small holdings to improve yields. They take the money and run, pay their vehicle insurance, pay their home light bills and generally squander the money that was and is supposed to keep the citrus trees they have in good shape, adequately fertilized and terrain clean of weeds. The small growers are playing at citrus growing, as dilettantes, and usually have other income streams from full time, or part time jobs, or business ventures. Then they start hollering for more money, over and above their delivery payments, dividends if any, and have insisted in the past that the FACTORY go into debt with loans to pay them money, due against future deliveries of questionable honesty. That is why they got to the point where they are now. They cannot run a factory business. As it is right now, the operations and problems of the small citrus growers should be theirs alone. Kept separate from FACTORY operations and revenue streams. That makes sense and Banks Holdings the minority investor who put up the $65 million are protecting their interest, which is a dividend and the plant infra structure. Good for them, I would do the same thing.
There is going to be a SHAKEOUT in the citrus industry. Already this is occurring as some major producers have had to go to court to establish their right to create their own Association, which they have done. They also have a small factory line for washing, cleaning and packing fresh whole fruit, which they are selling in foreign countries. In the past the government backed monopoly of the Citrus Growers Association enabled them through government intervention and political votes to threaten and cajol politicians into getting what they want. The latest court rulings have broken their monopoly and political power of a group vote control. How this SHAKEOUT is going to play out remains to be seen. It is however, a long needed development to put the citrus growing industry on a solid and much better footing. Playing pirates and looting and plundering the citrus factory in the past, as their private piggy bank, was a wrong way of doing things and just maybe a breath of fresh air is penetrating the citrus industry and finally it should become successful.
Citrus Growers Association unable to convince minority shareholder ( Bank Holding ) to change the INVESTMENT AGREEMENT of $65 million that built the modernized factory.
The CGA though the majority shareholder are stuck with the investment agreement that the lawyers for the minority shareholder Banks Holding of the Eastern Caribbean drew up to protect the investment. Which gives the minority shareholder veto power over some Board members.
So far, the minority investor wants the Chairman of the Board of their choice and the Citrus Growers Association want the Board chairman, of their choice. The two sides are at odds.
Behind the sweet talk and blarney put forth by professional politician on the Board for the Citrus Growers Association, ( forget his name ) the fact is; that the CITRUS GROWERS ASSOCIATION want to loot, plunder and rape the earnings of the Citrus Factory. Right now they get their dividends, just like the minority shareholder. What they want is control of the Board of Directors, which in numbers of shares they have, but technically they haven’t, because of clauses in the INVESTMENT AGREEMENT of Banks Holdings, the minority shareholder has protections. These protections are to see that the citrus factory operates on a business like basis, that earnings go into maintainance and marketing to keep the factory operating at a profitable level, separate from the CGA investors group. That money pays off existing debts, and dividends are paid to both shareholders, the minority investor of $65 million and the CGA group.
What the CGA group want is to loot the earnings of the factory by controlling the Board. So far, they cannot even agree to elect a CHAIRMAN. Stalemate! The CGA are talking about buying out the minority shareholder, but that would take $65 million and they already have huge debts from mismanagement of the previous smaller factory that existed back to colonial times. My understanding is they have 90 days to put up or shut up! Nobody expects this bunch of wasteful pirates in the CGA to shut up though.
The historical past is that the CGA group has looted the factory revenues before. It doesn’t matter how much sweet talk, about fertilizing poorly maintained trees in small holdings to improve yields. They take the money and run, pay their vehicle insurance, pay their home light bills and generally squander the money that was and is supposed to keep the citrus trees they have in good shape, adequately fertilized and terrain clean of weeds. The small growers are playing at citrus growing, as dilettantes, and usually have other income streams from full time, or part time jobs, or business ventures. Then they start hollering for more money, over and above their delivery payments, dividends if any, and have insisted in the past that the FACTORY go into debt with loans to pay them money, due against future deliveries of questionable honesty. That is why they got to the point where they are now. They cannot run a factory business. As it is right now, the operations and problems of the small citrus growers should be theirs alone. Kept separate from FACTORY operations and revenue streams. That makes sense and Banks Holdings the minority investor who put up the $65 million are protecting their interest, which is a dividend and the plant infra structure. Good for them, I would do the same thing.
There is going to be a SHAKEOUT in the citrus industry. Already this is occurring as some major producers have had to go to court to establish their right to create their own Association, which they have done. They also have a small factory line for washing, cleaning and packing fresh whole fruit, which they are selling in foreign countries. In the past the government backed monopoly of the Citrus Growers Association enabled them through government intervention and political votes to threaten and cajol politicians into getting what they want. The latest court rulings have broken their monopoly and political power of a group vote control. How this SHAKEOUT is going to play out remains to be seen. It is however, a long needed development to put the citrus growing industry on a solid and much better footing. Playing pirates and looting and plundering the citrus factory in the past, as their private piggy bank, was a wrong way of doing things and just maybe a breath of fresh air is penetrating the citrus industry and finally it should become successful.
BELIZE MENNONITES NEXT STEP IN ADDED VALUE FOOD PROCESSING!
CANNING FOOD THE NEXT STEP FOR THE MENNONITES?
By Ray Auxillou/ Santa Elena town, Belize
The recent revelation that Portugal is importing black eyed beans and Value Added Processing them in canning, for distribution throughout the European Union countries, makes one think a bit. Belize also has a FREE TRADE no tariff agreement with the EU.
It would seem the next step for the Mennonite different bean and corn producer farmer groups, is to set up two separate companies in a joint venture. Value Added Processing does several things. It improves your profit margin and gives you a product with a long shelf life in different climates of the world.
First the UK had the edge in colonial days in food processing, because they had TIN mines from which to make cans for foods. These days the MEXICANS and the BRAZILIANS are more modern than the UK and if my refried beans in a can is any example, the Mexicans at least, have a system of making cans out of thin aluminum instead of the old fashioned steel and tinning process. Because some foods are acidic, the refried beans can from Mexico has a ceramic liner. Not knowing how they make these, it looks like a relatively simple process to stamp cans, out of aluminum. The ceramic coating is my guess they have a spray head that sprays the inside can with a liquid and then it is baked hard? This gives food security. So a small plant to produce cans for Belizean food products and I am thinking in terms of black eyed beans, red kidney beans and sweet corn seems to be the next logical step for the Mennonites as exporters of food products.
The second company would be needed to actually take the cans and process the food. It looks like you cook the beans varieties and the sweet corn, then the lid is stamped on and crimped. When it cools it provides a vapor lock, or vacuum packing, which also extends shelf life for groceries in all kinds of climates and parts of the world.
The existing red bean producer groups around Spanish Lookout would supply beans to the food processing plant, as also the black eyed beans from the North of Belize and farmers of sweet corn would have their own seasonal delivery system to the canning processing plant. Careful estimates of production would need to be done, so that one didn’t squander millions of dollars on too large a processing plant. The farming producer groups would obviously have shares in both can producing and food processing/canning companies. So they got their wholesale price for product and dividends, as icing on the cake! The WORLD is your market and it surely seems there is no shortage of buyers and markets for food.
And as a footnote, I would invest my savings of $100,000 in either company, the one making the cans, or the one processing the crops. My goal would be to get a dividend. I have faith in the Mennonite community to do it right, through hard work.
By Ray Auxillou/ Santa Elena town, Belize
The recent revelation that Portugal is importing black eyed beans and Value Added Processing them in canning, for distribution throughout the European Union countries, makes one think a bit. Belize also has a FREE TRADE no tariff agreement with the EU.
It would seem the next step for the Mennonite different bean and corn producer farmer groups, is to set up two separate companies in a joint venture. Value Added Processing does several things. It improves your profit margin and gives you a product with a long shelf life in different climates of the world.
First the UK had the edge in colonial days in food processing, because they had TIN mines from which to make cans for foods. These days the MEXICANS and the BRAZILIANS are more modern than the UK and if my refried beans in a can is any example, the Mexicans at least, have a system of making cans out of thin aluminum instead of the old fashioned steel and tinning process. Because some foods are acidic, the refried beans can from Mexico has a ceramic liner. Not knowing how they make these, it looks like a relatively simple process to stamp cans, out of aluminum. The ceramic coating is my guess they have a spray head that sprays the inside can with a liquid and then it is baked hard? This gives food security. So a small plant to produce cans for Belizean food products and I am thinking in terms of black eyed beans, red kidney beans and sweet corn seems to be the next logical step for the Mennonites as exporters of food products.
The second company would be needed to actually take the cans and process the food. It looks like you cook the beans varieties and the sweet corn, then the lid is stamped on and crimped. When it cools it provides a vapor lock, or vacuum packing, which also extends shelf life for groceries in all kinds of climates and parts of the world.
The existing red bean producer groups around Spanish Lookout would supply beans to the food processing plant, as also the black eyed beans from the North of Belize and farmers of sweet corn would have their own seasonal delivery system to the canning processing plant. Careful estimates of production would need to be done, so that one didn’t squander millions of dollars on too large a processing plant. The farming producer groups would obviously have shares in both can producing and food processing/canning companies. So they got their wholesale price for product and dividends, as icing on the cake! The WORLD is your market and it surely seems there is no shortage of buyers and markets for food.
And as a footnote, I would invest my savings of $100,000 in either company, the one making the cans, or the one processing the crops. My goal would be to get a dividend. I have faith in the Mennonite community to do it right, through hard work.
NEW TROPICAL CROPS EXPANDING IN BELIZE - the land of opportunity!
NEW TROPICAL CROPS IN BELIZE EXPANDING in the land of opportunity!
One of the new crops in Belize that is expanding is Jatropha. A plant that grows and can produce diesel equivalent oil, for energy self sufficiency in Belize. There is a ready supply of 20,000 seedlings being sold near mile 63 on the Western Highway, telephone: 621 3432 for the production of bio diesel.
I have not yet heard or seen of any machinery used to produce the bio diesel in Belize yet. It will be interesting to see the cost anaylsis when somebody actually produces bio diesel from Jatropha for sale on the local market.
PITAYHA that luscious DRAGON FRUIT, you scoop out of a fruit with a spoon to eat, that is like ICE CREAM, but very healthy. The Pitayha growing acreage is expanding very slowly. The fruit is produced from a climbing cactus. I used to have five plants in my daughter’s yard in Hillview, but they got stolen. Her yard is not fenced. It takes four years to produce 8000 to 10,000 lbs of pitahya, per acre, a year. Locally the fruit is available in the markets from June through October. There is an export market all over the world for them. Far from that yet, as I believe less than 10 acres of Pitayha are currently being grown?
LOCAL TOLEDO RICE is growing in acreage. Good rice too! Been a lot of time and money spent by TAIWAN on rice production. Finally the rice growing is moving to mechanization with mechanical rice planters, combine harvesters. New machinery just came in, to service a new 50 acre rice plantation going in down in the Toledo District. Exporting rice is a strong possibility inside a dozen years.
Rice production is beset by a bureaucratic method of blanket price control locally and not by quality and variety. This is crippling improvements in production, when bad rice and better rice cannot compete for price in the market place. Consequently the government monopoly on prices is stunting development of better quality types of rice production. The incentive is not there to improve to meet international export standards.
Agriculture Report printed out the rainfall data for Spanish Lookout for the past 42 years. Interestingly enough the average rainfall over 42 years was 61 and a half inches in this area of agriculture. Our government meteorological department does not print out data on rainfall and wind speeds. Windmill turbine investors are constantly seeking wind data locations from this government department, but they are ignored. A non functional statistical department. They basically only do weather reports for the TV news.
PRICES FOR CATTLE AND HOGS HAVE BEEN TRENDING LOWER FOR PAST TWO YEARS, says the Agriculture Report for June/July. Part of the problem is the need to illegally export cattle, as the government has been impossibly slow to legalize the process and speed up the regulatory aspects with Mexico. The loss to the economy is about $300 per cow. This is translating to a LOSS to our economy of about $6,750,000. There is a very good breakdown of the cattle business nationally in this Agriculture Report magazine, done by Beth Robinson.
ZIMBABWE loss is BELIZE gain. Old farmer friend in ZIMBABWE finally found a lost high school friend through the internet, in tropical Belize. A contributor to the Agriculture Report in Belize called Peter Margesson. Tim Savory of Zimbabwe was happy to be reunited with him via the internet.
REIMER Mennonite FEED MILL out in Spanish Lookout now worth several millions of dollars. They deal with poultry and livestock feeds mostly. 50 years ago they started with six local bought chickens. Port town people on the coast continue to waste their time, looking for handouts, as in salaried government clerical jobs. BELIZE is the land of OPPORTUNITY.
Ministries of AGRICULTURE, HEALTH and EDUCATION need to start coordinating their actions. Farmers and villages are complaining about the different groups and NGO’s constantly bothering them looking for information and data collecting. Obviously the Government Departments do not know what the right hand and left hand are doing.
BELIZE IS THE FOURTH LARGEST EXPORTER OF BLACK EYED BEANS in the whole world. Belize has the 2nd best quality of black eyed beans. 8.2 million pounds were harvested last year. The quantity is growing about 15% per year. 60% of the black eyed bean crop is sold to CARICOM countries, but they are sold ALL OVER THE WORLD. In CARICOM, Trinidad is the biggest consumer. Around the world, they are a favorite of ARABS. Europe actually consumes a lot, but funny enough Portugal dominates the processing/canning sector for black eyed beans and ships them to fellow European Union countries. Portugal is the biggest importer in Europe of raw beans. They sell at about $72 Bz for a 100 lbs sack as a raw commodity, F.O.B. A local company of farmers have organized themselves to give themselves a steady price and each farmer gets a monthly cheque. Marketing Red Kidney beans is a different kettle of fish, as most of this is consumed locally. BEL CAR the farmer owned company has the capacity to package approximately 100,000 lbs of beans daily. They plan to expand into producing corn grits for export.
LENTILS are my families most favorite bean food in Belize. Unfortunately nobody in Belize is growing them yet. We have to buy imported GOYA LENTILS. Another opportunity going to waste for want of a producer. There is a big WORLD MARKET all over.
One of the new crops in Belize that is expanding is Jatropha. A plant that grows and can produce diesel equivalent oil, for energy self sufficiency in Belize. There is a ready supply of 20,000 seedlings being sold near mile 63 on the Western Highway, telephone: 621 3432 for the production of bio diesel.
I have not yet heard or seen of any machinery used to produce the bio diesel in Belize yet. It will be interesting to see the cost anaylsis when somebody actually produces bio diesel from Jatropha for sale on the local market.
PITAYHA that luscious DRAGON FRUIT, you scoop out of a fruit with a spoon to eat, that is like ICE CREAM, but very healthy. The Pitayha growing acreage is expanding very slowly. The fruit is produced from a climbing cactus. I used to have five plants in my daughter’s yard in Hillview, but they got stolen. Her yard is not fenced. It takes four years to produce 8000 to 10,000 lbs of pitahya, per acre, a year. Locally the fruit is available in the markets from June through October. There is an export market all over the world for them. Far from that yet, as I believe less than 10 acres of Pitayha are currently being grown?
LOCAL TOLEDO RICE is growing in acreage. Good rice too! Been a lot of time and money spent by TAIWAN on rice production. Finally the rice growing is moving to mechanization with mechanical rice planters, combine harvesters. New machinery just came in, to service a new 50 acre rice plantation going in down in the Toledo District. Exporting rice is a strong possibility inside a dozen years.
Rice production is beset by a bureaucratic method of blanket price control locally and not by quality and variety. This is crippling improvements in production, when bad rice and better rice cannot compete for price in the market place. Consequently the government monopoly on prices is stunting development of better quality types of rice production. The incentive is not there to improve to meet international export standards.
Agriculture Report printed out the rainfall data for Spanish Lookout for the past 42 years. Interestingly enough the average rainfall over 42 years was 61 and a half inches in this area of agriculture. Our government meteorological department does not print out data on rainfall and wind speeds. Windmill turbine investors are constantly seeking wind data locations from this government department, but they are ignored. A non functional statistical department. They basically only do weather reports for the TV news.
PRICES FOR CATTLE AND HOGS HAVE BEEN TRENDING LOWER FOR PAST TWO YEARS, says the Agriculture Report for June/July. Part of the problem is the need to illegally export cattle, as the government has been impossibly slow to legalize the process and speed up the regulatory aspects with Mexico. The loss to the economy is about $300 per cow. This is translating to a LOSS to our economy of about $6,750,000. There is a very good breakdown of the cattle business nationally in this Agriculture Report magazine, done by Beth Robinson.
ZIMBABWE loss is BELIZE gain. Old farmer friend in ZIMBABWE finally found a lost high school friend through the internet, in tropical Belize. A contributor to the Agriculture Report in Belize called Peter Margesson. Tim Savory of Zimbabwe was happy to be reunited with him via the internet.
REIMER Mennonite FEED MILL out in Spanish Lookout now worth several millions of dollars. They deal with poultry and livestock feeds mostly. 50 years ago they started with six local bought chickens. Port town people on the coast continue to waste their time, looking for handouts, as in salaried government clerical jobs. BELIZE is the land of OPPORTUNITY.
Ministries of AGRICULTURE, HEALTH and EDUCATION need to start coordinating their actions. Farmers and villages are complaining about the different groups and NGO’s constantly bothering them looking for information and data collecting. Obviously the Government Departments do not know what the right hand and left hand are doing.
BELIZE IS THE FOURTH LARGEST EXPORTER OF BLACK EYED BEANS in the whole world. Belize has the 2nd best quality of black eyed beans. 8.2 million pounds were harvested last year. The quantity is growing about 15% per year. 60% of the black eyed bean crop is sold to CARICOM countries, but they are sold ALL OVER THE WORLD. In CARICOM, Trinidad is the biggest consumer. Around the world, they are a favorite of ARABS. Europe actually consumes a lot, but funny enough Portugal dominates the processing/canning sector for black eyed beans and ships them to fellow European Union countries. Portugal is the biggest importer in Europe of raw beans. They sell at about $72 Bz for a 100 lbs sack as a raw commodity, F.O.B. A local company of farmers have organized themselves to give themselves a steady price and each farmer gets a monthly cheque. Marketing Red Kidney beans is a different kettle of fish, as most of this is consumed locally. BEL CAR the farmer owned company has the capacity to package approximately 100,000 lbs of beans daily. They plan to expand into producing corn grits for export.
LENTILS are my families most favorite bean food in Belize. Unfortunately nobody in Belize is growing them yet. We have to buy imported GOYA LENTILS. Another opportunity going to waste for want of a producer. There is a big WORLD MARKET all over.
BELIZE EXPORT SMUGGLING GROWS due to government difficulties!
ANCEDOTAL STREET REPORTS BY RANCHERS ON MACAL RIVER MARKET GOSSIPING AND COMPLAINING AT THE STATE OF THE CATTLE PRICES AND PROBLEMS, BACKED BY THE EXCELLENT STATISTICAL DATA FROM THE BELIZE AG REPORT OF JUNE/JULY, GIVES ME THE BASIS FOR THE IMPRESSIONS EXPRESSED BY THIS ARTICLE ON MY BLOG! IT IS NOT ONLY CATTLE RANCHERS COMPLAINING, BUT PRODUCERS OF MANY VEGETABLE CROPS AS WELL, WITH ESSENTIALLY THE SAME PROBLEMS WITH THE GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRATIC PROCESSES.
by Ray Auxillou, August, 2010
Recently I wondered about spiritual, and mental tussles facing some of the more religious agriculture farmers. There is a constant complaint from government about farmers smuggling things for export across the borders., in which the government loses control and also revenues.
It is the government itself that is causing most of this situation. At one time a couple of decades ago, the agriculture budget for government was around 25% of government revenues. Today the budget for agriculture support by the government is 1.4% says the article by the editor. At one time in 2006 the budget for agriculture had actually shrunk to 1.1%. While tourism might still be king as a pillar of the economy, and oil is growing to be another pillar on a smaller scale, agriculture is still the mainstay of the economy of Belize.
There is an old saying; “you can’t get blood out of a stone”. The government is faced with some hard choices due to the costs of paying off past government loan borrowing. The available money to pay off loans and interest is getting bigger, year by year, while the revenues have shrunk.
First of all SMUGGLERS in agriculture taking stuff for export across the border DO REALIZE that the government is in dire financial straits. Nor do they look at the UDP government as not doing the best they can under the financial circumstances. It is quite evident that the new policy of dividing up scarce revenues, to be spent evenly by the six districts is working for a sense of NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. People are VERY satisfied with that. Well perhaps not the 80,000 population of the port town down on the coast, that were once considered by them at least, to BE THE COUNTRY OF BELIZE, as the old capital. Certainly the port town has more than their fair share of elected representatives and we can only hope that selfishness will not stop the Elections and Boundaries Commission from recalculating this unfair playing field in two years from now, for the next election.
The big problem from the viewpoint of agriculture export smugglers is that they are dealing with perishable products. For the most part, when you can harvest and sell a crop of something, you have a limited time frame. This can be measured in hours within one day. The problem at least partially, is the plethora of government sub departments and bureaucracies dealing with exports, like BAHA, MAF and other government bureaucratic entities, designed and installed in recent years to ensure we have international qualified products for export. The whole thing needs restructuring. The government needs; a one stop shopping center for these myriad export controlling agencies. The process has to be consolidated and speeded up. Instead of taking three days, or a couple of weeks, the process has to be refined and retuned, to take about an hour and a half. If you include perishable products, the travel cost and time and labor, there is often no choice for a farmer, but to smuggle his product across the frontier. Running around trying to comply with red tape bureaucracy, to be legal and contribute your two cents to government revenues, is self defeating, if something you are exporting is worth $2000 and the cost of running around and doing all the red tape paper work costs $1500 in time and labor and fuel costs. The difference is in a profit, or a loss.
From the viewpoint of the farmer with a desire to encourage the good work of the current UDP government and pay his tithe in cash contributions, the government has to make it easier and more efficient. People have to eat; perishable agriculture products have to be sold on a schedule set by nature, which can include rain storms, muddy roads, availability of labor at a certain time. The red tape as it currently stands, is both too expensive and time consuming and smuggling is the alternative choice, rather than losing months of work, investment and labor. Just because you the government cannot get the paper work done in one and a half hours, instead of three or four days.
Agriculture is improving, both from the viewpoint of processing VALUE ADDED products, new methods of production, new products and some of the difficult paper processing bureaucracy are also playing a part to export these, with their rules and regulations to satisfy international standards, agreements. Unfortunately, the process of development is FORCING smuggling for export, due to the limitations of government cash strapped abilities.
We have a SOCIALIST country, in which 14,000 people are employed by the government. A good segment of this bureaucracy are inefficient. This needs to be remedied with innovation and new organizational structures. Remember, for the most part, you are not dealing with an automobile for export, or a cargo of lumber, that can wait to be exported, but are dealing with a lot of perishable agriculture products. For some of these export products, the TIME ELEMENT is crucial and the choice of do it legal, or do it illegal is a simple choice, if the legal route is simply pre-ordained not going to work. A smuggler can have all the good will and desire in the world to pay the government it’s piece of the action, or build the nation. Seeing your agriculture product die, or spoil while trying to deal with a slow complicated bureaucracy is certainly not good for the economy, nor the farmer and those who depend on the cash earned from sale of those crops.
We the farmer are with you in your efforts in government, but you better get your organization in better order, if this process is going to work of building a nation. Neither the weather or some crops wait for anybody else’s convenience.
by Ray Auxillou, August, 2010
Recently I wondered about spiritual, and mental tussles facing some of the more religious agriculture farmers. There is a constant complaint from government about farmers smuggling things for export across the borders., in which the government loses control and also revenues.
It is the government itself that is causing most of this situation. At one time a couple of decades ago, the agriculture budget for government was around 25% of government revenues. Today the budget for agriculture support by the government is 1.4% says the article by the editor. At one time in 2006 the budget for agriculture had actually shrunk to 1.1%. While tourism might still be king as a pillar of the economy, and oil is growing to be another pillar on a smaller scale, agriculture is still the mainstay of the economy of Belize.
There is an old saying; “you can’t get blood out of a stone”. The government is faced with some hard choices due to the costs of paying off past government loan borrowing. The available money to pay off loans and interest is getting bigger, year by year, while the revenues have shrunk.
First of all SMUGGLERS in agriculture taking stuff for export across the border DO REALIZE that the government is in dire financial straits. Nor do they look at the UDP government as not doing the best they can under the financial circumstances. It is quite evident that the new policy of dividing up scarce revenues, to be spent evenly by the six districts is working for a sense of NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. People are VERY satisfied with that. Well perhaps not the 80,000 population of the port town down on the coast, that were once considered by them at least, to BE THE COUNTRY OF BELIZE, as the old capital. Certainly the port town has more than their fair share of elected representatives and we can only hope that selfishness will not stop the Elections and Boundaries Commission from recalculating this unfair playing field in two years from now, for the next election.
The big problem from the viewpoint of agriculture export smugglers is that they are dealing with perishable products. For the most part, when you can harvest and sell a crop of something, you have a limited time frame. This can be measured in hours within one day. The problem at least partially, is the plethora of government sub departments and bureaucracies dealing with exports, like BAHA, MAF and other government bureaucratic entities, designed and installed in recent years to ensure we have international qualified products for export. The whole thing needs restructuring. The government needs; a one stop shopping center for these myriad export controlling agencies. The process has to be consolidated and speeded up. Instead of taking three days, or a couple of weeks, the process has to be refined and retuned, to take about an hour and a half. If you include perishable products, the travel cost and time and labor, there is often no choice for a farmer, but to smuggle his product across the frontier. Running around trying to comply with red tape bureaucracy, to be legal and contribute your two cents to government revenues, is self defeating, if something you are exporting is worth $2000 and the cost of running around and doing all the red tape paper work costs $1500 in time and labor and fuel costs. The difference is in a profit, or a loss.
From the viewpoint of the farmer with a desire to encourage the good work of the current UDP government and pay his tithe in cash contributions, the government has to make it easier and more efficient. People have to eat; perishable agriculture products have to be sold on a schedule set by nature, which can include rain storms, muddy roads, availability of labor at a certain time. The red tape as it currently stands, is both too expensive and time consuming and smuggling is the alternative choice, rather than losing months of work, investment and labor. Just because you the government cannot get the paper work done in one and a half hours, instead of three or four days.
Agriculture is improving, both from the viewpoint of processing VALUE ADDED products, new methods of production, new products and some of the difficult paper processing bureaucracy are also playing a part to export these, with their rules and regulations to satisfy international standards, agreements. Unfortunately, the process of development is FORCING smuggling for export, due to the limitations of government cash strapped abilities.
We have a SOCIALIST country, in which 14,000 people are employed by the government. A good segment of this bureaucracy are inefficient. This needs to be remedied with innovation and new organizational structures. Remember, for the most part, you are not dealing with an automobile for export, or a cargo of lumber, that can wait to be exported, but are dealing with a lot of perishable agriculture products. For some of these export products, the TIME ELEMENT is crucial and the choice of do it legal, or do it illegal is a simple choice, if the legal route is simply pre-ordained not going to work. A smuggler can have all the good will and desire in the world to pay the government it’s piece of the action, or build the nation. Seeing your agriculture product die, or spoil while trying to deal with a slow complicated bureaucracy is certainly not good for the economy, nor the farmer and those who depend on the cash earned from sale of those crops.
We the farmer are with you in your efforts in government, but you better get your organization in better order, if this process is going to work of building a nation. Neither the weather or some crops wait for anybody else’s convenience.
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