In an investigation that has cast a harsh spotlight on Belize’s defense procurement practices, leaked tender documents have exposed exorbitant overcharging for everyday goods, leaving taxpayers on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary overspending. The most striking example documented in the investigation is a single bottle of mayonnaise that cost the Belize Defense Force (BDF) nearly $34, a price that dwarfs both competing bids and local market rates.
The investigation, conducted by News Five’s Paul Lopez, focuses on procurement activity for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, when just four suppliers secured the vast majority of BDF supply contracts: A&Y Fresh Vegetables, J&J Imports, Kukulcan Company Limited, and Mount Pleasant Fresh Produce. While contract awards to these firms have raised questions, the far more alarming issue is the gap between what taxpayers paid and what these basic goods actually cost.
Take the mayonnaise pricing for example. Local market data from the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) puts the average 2023-2024 price of a 32-ounce bottle of mayonnaise at $9.20. Competing supplier Mount Pleasant Fresh Produce offered BDF a half-size bottle for just $6.98. But J&J Imports’ winning bid came in at $33.87 for a comparable bottle — nearly five times the price Mount Pleasant quoted, and almost four times the cost of a larger bottle sold to regular consumers across Belize. If defense officials had accepted the lower bid from Mount Pleasant, taxpayers would have saved nearly $40,000 on this single item alone.
Mayonnaise is not the only overpriced commodity in the leaked documents. Another surprising entry comes from Hugo Engineering and Construction Company, a firm with no background in food production, distribution or meat processing, that was awarded a contract to supply thousands of pounds of assorted meat to BDF, ranging from beef steak and chicken breast to lamb and pork chops.
Even a seemingly small markup on chicken breast adds up to substantial overspending. Hugo Engineering charged the defense ministry $5.06 per pound of chicken breast over the full fiscal year, 33 cents above the national average of $4.73 per pound recorded in April 2024. With the firm supplying 1,000 pounds of chicken breast monthly (12,000 pounds per year), that tiny per-pound markup translates to almost $4,000 in unnecessary annual spending.
Vegetable oil tells a similar story. SIB data from July 2023 recorded an average national price of $6.39 per liter of vegetable oil. Yet BDF paid Mount Pleasant Fresh Produce $7.30 per liter for 300 liters monthly, and paid A&Y Fresh Vegetables an even higher $8.50 per liter for 600 liters monthly. Combined, the markup on vegetable oil alone added up to more than $18,400 in excess spending over the fiscal year.
When adding up the overcharging across just these three basic items, a preliminary analysis shows Belizean taxpayers overpaid by more than $43,000 — and that is before reviewing the hundreds of other goods and services included in the full defense procurement budget. The investigation continues as officials and the public push for answers about how these inflated prices were approved, and whether systemic reforms are needed to crack down on waste and overcharging in public defense spending. Reporting for News Five, Paul Lopez delivered the on-the-ground investigation into the questionable contracting practices.