Export revenues up more than 10 percent for first four months of 2021

Published by BBN Staff at May 27, 2021

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Posted: Thursday, May 27, 2021. 1:14 pm CST.

By Benjamin Flowers: Belize’s revenues made from exports were up more than 10 percent for the first four months of 2021, according to new data published by the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB).

The SIB’s latest External Trade Bulletin (ETB) showed that export revenues for the period January to April 2021 totaled $126.5 million, up 12.8 percent or $14.4 million from the same period last year.

There were several export categories that saw increases in earnings, with sugar and animal feed recording the most substantial growth over the four-month period.

“Revenues from sugar increased by more than 50 percent or almost $15 million, from $28.6 million in 2020 to $43.6 million in 2021. This was primarily caused by differences in the shipping schedules for exports of bulk sugar between last year and this year. Revenues from animal feed more than doubled during the period, rising sharply from $3.8 million in 2020 to $9.3 million in 2021,” the SIB said.

Earnings from marine products saw a marginal increase from$12.1 million to $12.2 million, which the SIB explained was due to strong exports of conch being offset by decreased sales of lobster products and shrimp. Crude petroleum exports managed to make $0.04 million for the first four months of this year, as opposed to making nothing in the first four months of last year since there were no shipments exported.

Despite the successes, some exports still saw declines in their sales; these included citrus products, bananas and red kidney beans.

“Red kidney beans recorded the largest decrease, with earnings from this product falling by almost 50 percent, from $8.7 million in 2020 to $4.7 million in 2021,” the SIB added.

Meanwhile, revenues from citrus exports declined by more than $3 million, from $15.9 million in 2020 to $12.9 million in 2021, due for the most part to reduced sales of orange concentrate. Revenue from the sale of bananas went down by $2.3 million over the four-month period, from $29.2 million to $26.9 million.

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