Guatemalan Government Delegation in Belize to Learn About Citrus Industry

And as citrus stakeholders are working to rebuild a once thriving industry, a government delegation from Peten, Guatemala is in Belize hoping to learn more about the sector. The Government of Guatemala is seeking technical assistance from Belize to establish its own citrus industry. The delegation is in the country for two days and they will get to see firsthand how the sector functions. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

The government of Guatemala is leaning on the Government of Belize for technical assistance to establish a citrus industry in the neighboring country. A delegation led by Guatemala’s Vice-Minister of Peten Affairs, Elmer Salazar, is in Belize on a two-day working visit to better understand Belize’s citrus industry.

 

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture

“The Guatemalans don’t have a citrus industry. They want to start and they have asked us to support them in giving them technical assistance, technical advise on how to begin. If you are aware, Belize was one of the only countries that had a very good system in place where you had certified nurseries. So we had imported clean material from sources in the U.S and we grew that in a very controlled environment and those trees is what we used as mother trees to try to curve the incidents of citrus greening.”

 

 

Unfortunately, in 2008 citrus greening emerged as a new threat to Belize’s citrus industry. At the time, the industry was generating just over sixty-seven million dollars in revenue per annum, with over five hundred active growers. On average, seven million boxes of citrus were being produced annually.

 

 

 

 

 

Jose Abelardo Mai

“In 2008 when we had citrus greening being declared all across the country, we could not control it. There was not enough interest being placed into the industry at the time. So, we picked up the industry I think in the lowest spot in its history. But I must report to you that up to now, CPBL has received three hundred and fifty thousand to four hundred and fifty-thousand boxes this year, which is much better compared to last year. That is a silver lining. And to compliment that, I will say to you that we have exported between forty to fifty containers of fresh fruits and that is very good news to report.”

 

 

 

The visit will include a tour of citrus groves at Caves Branch on the Hummingbird Highway, as well as a tour of the Citrus Growers Association facilities and the CPBL’s factory and nursery. We heard from Vice-minister Elmer Salazar.

 

Elmer Salazar, Vice-Minister, Peten Affairs

“Well, on this occasion, we came with a delegation from the Department of Peten, specifically from the Ministry of Agriculture, mainly visiting the facilities, which is run by Minister José Abelardo, who with his team we have approached. We, as the new government that we started this year by Dr. Bernardo Arevalo, we want to have this approach with this country, Belize, which is a very beautiful country. I identify a lot with it because I was born in Melchor de Mencos and I was appointed by the President as the Deputy Minister of Specific Affairs of the Department of Peten in the field of agriculture and livestock. So for me, personally, it is a privilege to be here. And likewise, my team that accompanies me has the intention of getting to know the experiences that are being done here at the Ministry of Agriculture in Belize.”

 

 

Peten is described as the largest producer of grains in Guatemala. But as climate change threatens the livelihood of grain farmers in that department, they are seeking to invest in alternative industries, such as citrus.

 

Jose Abelardo Mai

“They have to begin from scratch. We have a history. We have very good experience in doing this. We have some of the best people trained in the industry and they are coming to learn from us. This is the first bilateral meeting we are having with this new government. I think Peten is one of the few departments that has a vice minister or a minister of agriculture for the area, because they have a big area and this is the first time we are meeting him in Belize. But as I explained to them, we share many similarities with Peten, same soil type, same type of geography, same type of problems with climate change effects, we are having the same and we share similar types of products and cultures. Many people in Peten study in Belize and many Belizeans marry Guatemalans. So, there is much to share with them. We share a lot and there is much more to share.”

 

Paul Lopez

“And when it comes to workers though, we know that many of these workers comes from Guatemala, is there a consideration there?”

 

Jose Abelardo Mai

“I think the entire region has a labor shortage. I was in costa Rica and Honduras, all the Nicaraguan that use to do the manual labor are in the U.S. So, Mexico has labor shortage, as a matter of fact the sugar crop is not going to end because they are unable to harvest all the cane. It is a concern of course, but nevertheless we have to work to see how best we can improve the lives of the farmers in the country.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.