BMDC Refutes Price Gouging Claims Made in Political Ads

Is the Belize Marketing and Development Corporation (BMDC) unduly marking up prices on agricultural produce they supply to wholesalers? A recently released political ad claims that the statutory body is placing a sixty to three hundred percent price markup on imported produce such as potatoes, lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli. The ad alleges that a group of P.U.P. cronies are collecting up to two hundred thousand dollars weekly as a result of these markups. BMDC was established under the Ministry of Agriculture with a mandate to ensure food security and affordable prices among other objectives. So, we reached out to the administrator at the BMDC, Valentin Carillo, to find out if there is any truth to the claims being made in the ad. Here is what he had to say.

 

Valentin Carrillo, Administrator, BMDC

“I saw the ad and I saw that they have a price quotation in the ad and certain Mexican commodity has a certain price. First of all I would like to explain that it is not as easy as the people might think that we just go buy, bring it over and sell it. If they see and article or a product in Chetumal for let’s say twenty-two pesos, we come bring it twenty-two pesos is about three dollars, we come and we sell it for three-twenties for instance. That is not how it works. Let me explain a little, for example let us say for onion which is one of our strong commodities, we have been offered onions for twenty-two pesos a kilo. We cannot buy those onions. The onions we bought are almost double the price. For various reasons, because twenty-two pesos is the one they contraband and move cross the border, but the one we buy has to meet certain standards if not BAHA won’t allow us to bring it in. The one at twenty-two pesos, the conditions and the quality is inferior and as soon as it reaches here our wholesaler will complained which has happened with certain commodities. So these are things we need to be careful if you notice right now, I got a price quotation from Cheduarea. The price of a kilo of onion, similar to what we import is up to fifty-nine pesos. And if you go in the market at Chetumal, the regular market where the inferior quality is, you can find it for twenty-two pesos, even twenty-five. Those we need to be mindful. We cannot bring those commodities. Similarly, the broccoli which was in scrutiny also, the ones we import is especially placed in garbage, the black bag, filled with shaved ice so that they can be transported across the border and meet certain standards.”