Belize: Economy continues to grow

Belize continues to set the pace for the region in economic development as the latest figure from the Statistical Institute of Belize shows that the economy grew by 3.6 % in the calendar year 2014. Growth slowed in the fourth quarter of the year to 1.6 % mainly due to shortfalls in the secondary sector. Despite this, still subject to later adjustment, the production value for 2014 is listed as $2.73 Billion.

From October to December 2014, in the primary sector the banana industry grew by more than 30 % when compared to the same period in 2013. That is an additional 7000 metric tonnes. Banana and grapefruit with an increase of an incredible 50.7 % were almost solely responsible for the strong performance of the agricultural sector in the fourth quarter. There was no sugarcane production during this time due to the delay in the start of the crop. There was also no harvesting of orange or lime since the fruit had not yet reached the desired maturity level. In the secondary sector, water distribution increased by 3.6 percent and softdrink production increased by 9 percent. Beer and liquor had minor increases as well. In the tertiary sector, the service sector which accounts for half of the country’s total economy grew by 3.6 %. This was driven by a growth of 15 % and 9 % in hotels and restaurant industry and wholesale and retail trade respectively. Overnight tourist arrivals grew by 3.6% (2,000 guests) and cruise tourist arrivals increased by 38.1 % (over 75,000 more).

Citrus concentrate production was down by 30 % largely due to the no orange production. Electricity generation fell by 18.8 % since rainfall levels was normal this year. The service sector is the best performing in the economy of Belize.

Source: guardian.bz