“Corona pause” as Minister of Agriculture says we must protect Belizean products

Published by BBNTEAM at September 20, 2024

Posted: Friday, September 20, 2024. 11:13 am CST.

By Aaron Humes: Prime Minister John Briceño indicated on Thursday that the reported granting of an import permit to Goliath Investments Company to import 10,000 cases of Mexican Corona Beer hasn’t happened yet – and if Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai has his way, it won’t.

Belize’s primary local producers of beer – Belize Brewing Company (Bowen and Bowen Beverages Limited) and Caribbean International Brewery – say they have enough to support the local market despite reports of shortages.

And the Minister told reporters that he was not aware that the permit had been granted until Tuesday of this week – and that perhaps it should not have been.

Mai explained that the Ministry is “bombarded” with requests for permits and that “There are some in Cabinet who believe that we should do away with the license regime because it’s against the policies and regulations of WTO [World Trade Organization.”

However, he personally stands by protecting Belizean products: “My personal view on this, we should protect every single thing we make in this country and you know my position has always been, we need to protect what we grow in this country.”

The importation would have to hinge on higher tariffs and ensuring the bottles would be labeled prominently “Belize Market” – meaning intended for local consumption only, not re-export.

And that meant higher prices – as much as $135 per case.

So the result is that the permit is on hold, according to Mai, while the regime remains under review.

As for Bowen, their corporate relations manager Rosanna Villanueva told Channel 5 News on Thursday, “There’s no shortage. A couple months ago, we did have production issues, which, you know, we were very open with the media. We shared that with the media what we were dealing with, but our supply has stabilized. We have all our beers being produced in the market. So there’s no shortage as such right now. If it’s a matter of variety, Bowen and Bowen produces a wide range of beer brands. We also import some beers from CARICOM. So it’s not a matter of lacking variety or anything in the country. But yes, we are supplying the country. Our beers are being produced, so there is no shortage.”

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