Opposition Leader Says PM is to Blame for Economic Struggles
During the months of April to June 2020 the economy shrunk twenty-three percent. It is the largest quarterly decline seen and the contraction was the result of the COVID-19. The [...]
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62,000+ Persons Apply for Unemployment Relief, but Only 32% are Approved
The COVID 19 pandemic has left thousands jobless, without income and in desperate need of assistance. Latest figures show that sixty-two thousand three hundred and sixty-three persons applied to benefit [...]
Regular Gasoline to increase by twenty-seven cents at midnight
Going into the tenth September, the pump price for regular gasoline will increase by twenty-seven cents from eight dollars and sixty-two cents to eight dollars and eighty nine cents per [...]
Written on September 9, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Mexican Investors Allowed One Day to Check on Businesses in Free Zone
For the past five months, Mexican investors in the Corozal Free Zone have been barred from entering Belize to check on their businesses due to the closure of the country’s [...]
Written on September 9, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Business at Corozal Free Zone Remains Halted
As for the state of the Corozal Free Zone, Hotchandani says that everything remains at a standstill and business owners continue to lose significant sums of money the longer the [...]
Written on September 9, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
What’s Up with Foreign Exchange and the Economy?
Earlier this week, the Statistical Institute of Belize released its latest figures on the performance of the economy. The past three months have been dismal, to say the least, as [...]
Written on August 28, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Farmers to Receive COVID Relief in the Agriculture Sector
The agro-productive sector is getting some much needed COVID relief from the Ministry of Agriculture. A sum of sixteen million dollars will be made available by the end of September [...]
Financial Assistance is Never too Late for Farmers
Minister Hulse breaks down how the funds will be disbursed based on the constriction of the agriculture sector due to COVID-19. The Belize Agriculture Information Management System is the database [...]
Airline Industry Continues to Reel from Airport Closure
With a deep drop in tourism arrivals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the local airline industry has been devastated. According to the latest figures from the Statistical Industry of Belize, [...]
The Stress of COVID-19 on Income; G.O.B. Economic Response
The economy contracted as much as twenty-three percent between April and June due to COVID-19. Most sectors felt the devastating effects of the pandemic rending thousands of Belizeans jobless. Today, [...]
Economy Contracted by 23.3% between April and June 2020
There is grim economic news tonight; the economy contracted by twenty-three point three percent in the second quarter. That is the highest contraction we’ve seen in the past two decades. [...]
Written on August 26, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Production Across All Sectors Recorded Major Decreases
The primary sector contracted by twenty point two percent during the second quarter of the year, from eighty point six million to seventy point eight million dollars. Sugarcane production declined [...]
Written on August 26, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Secondary Industries Decreases by 19.5%
In the secondary sector, a decline of nineteen point five percent over the three-month period was recorded. Within this sector, the ‘Manufacturing and Mining’ industry saw output fall by twenty-two [...]
Written on August 26, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Food Home Rental Costs Up, Fuel and LPG Prices Down
The most recent figures from the Statistical Institute of Belize’s monthly Consumer Price Index show that on average Belizean households saw the overall cost of regularly purchased goods and services [...]
Written on August 26, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Are C.P.I. Figures a True Reflection of On the Ground Situations?
According to the Acting Director General Diana Castillo-Trejo, the price collection basket used to determine the Consumer Price Index is an old model. The updated model was not used and [...]
Written on August 26, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Exports, Imports Down
External trade decreased significantly due to COVID-19 for July 2020. In July, the country imported goods valuing one hundred and nineteen million dollars, a decrease of thirty-seven point eight percent. [...]
Written on August 26, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Alfred “Big Red” Usher Wanted
Alfred “Big Red” Usher last week bitterly complained to News Five that he has been illegally and unfairly detained and placed in quarantine. He was caught in Orange Walk with [...]
Does G.O.B. Have Sufficient Funds to Cover Industries Amid COVID-19 Crisis?
With the recent spike in COVID-19 infections and the economy still stuttering, following the previous three-month state of emergency, is government financially able to sustain various industries, including the agro-productive [...]
$2.2M for Super Bond Legal and Consultation Fees
On Wednesday, the Senate approved the spending of two point two million dollars to cover the legal and consultation fees attached to the consent solicitation process for the deferral of [...]
P.S.U. Engaged with Cost-Saving Committee
In respect of the government’s wage bill and the need to cut costs incurred by government departments, First Vice President Dean Flowers says that a meeting is to be convened [...]
K.H.M.H. Workers Union Agrees to 3 Million-Dollar Cost-Cutting Exercise
The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Workers Union says that last week they were able to reach common ground on the cost cutting efforts at the K.H.M.H. as a result of [...]
Where are We with the Proposed Sale of Scotiabank Belize?
The sale of Scotiabank Belize to Caribbean International Holdings Limited, the parent company of Belize Bank, is still being finalized by the Central Bank. The Central Bank is pouring over [...]
Written on August 17, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Super Bond Payment Deferred
Belize has gotten a much needed break as far as the payment of the super bond even though the country’s credit rating was downgraded by Standards and Poor to a [...]
Written on August 17, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Standard & Poors Reduces Belize’s Foreign Currency Rating to SD
There is a downgrade to Belize’s credit rating. According to Reuters, S and P Global ratings reduced the country’s foreign currency ratings to SD from a CC/C. This is due [...]
Written on August 13, 2020 | Posted in Economy | Comments Off
Economic Inactivity on Caye Caulker Persists
Caye Caulker, like Ambergris Caye, has been severely affected by the pandemic because these island towns are highly dependent on tourism. Since the beginning of the year and more so [...]
