标签： Belize

In the coastal Belizean town of Hopkins, a groundbreaking regional workshop last week is opening doors to an unexpected new economic opportunity: turning discarded fish waste into high-value, sustainable handcrafted goods. The initiative, which targeted local women, young entrepreneurs, and small-scale fishing community members, trains participants to convert fish skin that would otherwise be thrown away into durable, natural leather for products ranging from handbags and wallets to footwear and apparel.

This upskilling program is a core component of the SICA Azul Project, an initiative focused on unlocking additional revenue streams from Central America’s fishing industry by leveraging underutilized byproducts. Leading the hands-on training was Pili Luna, a Honduran innovator who traveled to Belize through the Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano. Luna holds a international patent for her unique fish skin-to-leather conversion method, which stands out for its low-barrier, eco-friendly design.

Unlike industrial leather production that relies on heavy machinery, toxic chemicals and high energy inputs, Luna’s process is 100% natural, fully artisanal, and requires no electricity or specialized industrial equipment. The entire workflow takes just three hours of labor per week per batch, with finished, usable leather ready for production within two weeks — all starting from material that once ended up in landfills or discarded as waste after fish processing.

For participating local entrepreneurs, the training has already sparked new business plans. Ashanti Martinez, founder of Belizean brand Ashanti’s Crochet Design, intends to integrate the sustainable fish skin leather into her existing line of handmade bags to create unique, locally sourced products. Another participant, Leshawn Woodye, noted the versatility of the material, pointing out that it can be used to manufacture everything from clothing to high-quality footwear.

Hally Faux, a local fisher based in Hopkins, described the workshop as a transformative shift in how fishing communities view industry waste. “All that skin goes to waste after a while because of the fillet and whatever they do with it, and as a fisher myself, I learned to turn the fish skin into leather, and now I have a short business idea,” Faux explained.

Belize’s Agriculture Minister Rodwell Ferguson has already pledged government support to help participants turn their new skills into a viable, scalable industry. Ferguson announced plans to assist the participating women in forming a collective cooperative, as well as helping the group access startup funding to launch their businesses. “This is our income for them as a mother, as a wife, so I’m going to work with them for it to be accomplished,” Ferguson said.

If successful, the new fish leather industry could deliver dual benefits for Belize: it would cut down on organic waste from the country’s large fishing sector while creating stable, locally controlled income streams for marginalized groups including women, youth and small-scale fishing families that rely on the ocean for their livelihoods.

Newly released official trade data from Belize’s Statistical Institute paints a sharply divided picture of the country’s external commerce for June 2026, with total merchandise imports jumping by more than a fifth year-over-year even as domestic exports contracted by nearly 8%.

According to the institute’s latest External Trade bulletin, overall imports hit $275.8 million in June 2026, marking a 21.3% increase compared to the same month in 2025. The growth was widespread across nearly all major commodity groups, with just one category – Other Manufactures – posting a monthly decline.

The single largest contributor to the import expansion was the Mineral Fuels and Lubricants sector, which saw a $15.2 million jump to reach $48.2 million for the month. Two key factors drove this rise: elevated global crude and refined fuel prices, plus the resumption of large-scale premium fuel purchases that had been paused for a full 12 months. Following fuel, the Food and Live Animals category recorded a $12.1 million increase, fueled by rising imports of coffee and general grocery goods. Chemical Products also saw substantial growth, adding $9.8 million in import value as fertilizer costs climbed for local buyers.

When looking at cumulative trade activity for the first half of 2026, the import growth trend holds even stronger: total inbound goods reached $1.651 billion, a 19.1% increase compared to the first six months of 2025. Fuel imports again led the way, growing by $92.8 million, while machinery and transport equipment – which included one large aircraft purchase – added another $60.7 million in import value over the half-year period.

On the export side of the ledger, however, the performance told a far different story. Domestic exports from Belize fell 7.9% year-over-year in June 2026, dropping to just $26.0 million. The steepest declines were concentrated in key agricultural export sectors that form the backbone of Belize’s outbound trade: citrus export earnings plummeted by $10.1 million, sugar exports fell by $8 million, and cattle shipments dropped by $4.2 million. Banana and red kidney bean exports also posted lower earnings for the month, extending the downward trend across most agricultural categories.

That said, not all export segments faced headwinds in June. Marine product exports bucked the trend, posting a $3.2 million increase in earnings, supported by both stronger global pricing and higher shipment volumes.

For the full first half of 2026, the export contraction aligns with the monthly trend: total outbound domestic goods hit $166.6 million, representing a 12.7% drop compared to the same six-month period in 2025.

As millions of Belizean households continue navigating persistent financial strain, newly released economic data from the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) points to a nuanced shift in consumer sentiment: while overall consumer confidence dipped only marginally in June 2026, a growing share of the population is expressing cautious hope for economic improvement in the coming year.

Consumer confidence, a key metric that measures public perception of national economic conditions and personal financial standing, landed at 41.1 on a 100-point scale this June. By standard convention, any reading below 50 signals that pessimism outweighs optimism among consumers, confirming that most Belizeans still view current economic conditions as challenging. The marginal 0.2-point drop from May’s reading of 41.3 marks one of the smallest monthly declines recorded in 2026, a sharp slowdown from the steeper drops that eroded confidence earlier in the year.

Two core factors are driving ongoing public unease about current financial conditions. First, widespread hesitation remains around purchasing large, high-cost durable goods – including major home appliances such as refrigerators, household furniture, and motor vehicles. Second, the majority of respondents reported a more negative assessment of their current personal finances when compared to their financial standing one year prior.

The most notable positive shift in the SIB’s latest data appears in public expectations for the next 12 months. The future outlook sub-index jumped from a pessimistic 48.3 in May to a hopeful 51.4 in June, meaning for the first time in months, more Belizeans expect economic conditions to improve rather than worsen in the year ahead. In simplest terms, the data reflects a widespread public mindset: today may be difficult, but better days are coming.

Sentiment varies significantly across geographic regions of the country. The Orange Walk District recorded the sharpest monthly drop in overall confidence, with aggregate scores falling nearly 9 percent as local residents expressed heightened anxiety about current economic conditions and large purchases. Even so, Orange Walk residents mirrored the national trend of growing optimism about long-term economic prospects.

In contrast, the Cayo District recorded the strongest monthly rebound in consumer confidence, with aggregate scores climbing more than 6 percent. Local respondents there reported notably more positive expectations for future economic conditions than in previous months.

Urban and rural respondents also diverged in their June assessments. City residents recorded lower overall confidence than their rural counterparts this month, driven primarily by widespread delays to big-ticket purchase plans among urban households. Rural Belizeans, meanwhile, saw a small uptick in overall confidence, even as they reported slightly higher anxiety about day-to-day household expenses.

The most worrying trend revealed in the demographic breakdown is the sharp collapse in confidence among young Belizeans. Respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 recorded a 15 percent drop in overall confidence in just one month, the sharpest decline of any age group. Notably, this cohort was the only demographic group to report growing pessimism across all measured metrics, with young people expressing both anxiety about current finances and rising uncertainty about their future economic prospects.

On the opposite end of the age spectrum, Belizeans between 45 and 54 years old reported the strongest optimism about future economic conditions, with their future outlook score rising by 10 percent month-over-month.

When broken down by ethnicity, the data shows that Maya households reported the highest overall optimism across all demographic groups, and were the only ethnic cohort to push their aggregate confidence score above the 50-point threshold that separates pessimism from optimism. Garifuna households recorded the steepest decline in aggregate confidence, driven by growing hesitation around major purchases and a dimmer outlook for future economic conditions.

New official data released by the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) confirms that the nation’s annual inflation rate climbed to 4.6% in June 2026, as soaring costs across three critical household spending categories put growing financial pressure on ordinary Belizeans.

The SIB’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key metric that tracks aggregate price changes across a broad basket of consumer goods and services, reached 125.3 in June this year, up from 119.7 recorded in the same month of 2025. For the fourth consecutive month starting in March, the transport sector has remained the single largest contributor to overall inflation. When combined with price increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages, and housing-related expenses, these three segments account for more than 75% of the total annual uptick in consumer prices. In a rare point of stability, insurance and financial services were the only spending category that recorded no meaningful change in prices year-over-year.

Transport costs overall jumped 13.6% compared to June 2025, with pump prices for vehicle fuels driving almost all of this increase. Diesel saw the steepest surge among fuel products, rising nearly $4 per gallon to land at $15.33, up from $11.42 a year earlier. Premium gasoline climbed from $13.21 to $15.55 per gallon, while regular gasoline rose from $11.56 to $13.78 per gallon. Beyond fuel costs, passenger travel services also saw significant increases: bus fares, taxi rates, and international airfares collectively rose 15.5% over the 12-month period.

For food and non-alcoholic beverages, the annual price increase came in at 3.2%. Among all grocery items tracked by the SIB, sugar recorded the largest proportional jump, rising nearly 18% from $1.22 to $1.49 per pound. Other notable increases that stretched household grocery budgets include an 18.6% rise in cucumber prices, a 15.4% jump in tomato prices, a more than 10% increase in ground beef, and gains of over 8% for whole fish, turkey, and grapes. Instant coffee prices also rose sharply, up nearly 14% year-over-year.

Despite broad upward price movement across the grocery sector, consumers saw modest relief on a handful of staple produce items. Onions, black beans, plantains, okra, and carrots all dropped in price compared to June 2025, providing a small offset to higher costs for other goods.

The housing, water, electricity, gas, and other household fuels category recorded a 3.9% annual increase, driven largely by higher electricity and water tariffs that went into effect at the start of 2026. A 100-pound cylinder of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) also rose nearly $1, going from $128.46 to $138.35. Increasing residential rental rates added further upward pressure to this core household spending category.

The health sector posted the second-highest inflation rate of any consumer category at 7.0%, with the increase tied directly to higher fees for hospitalization and surgical procedures. Additional modest increases were recorded across other sectors: restaurant and café prices rose 3.4%, while clothing and footwear costs climbed 3.3% amid higher price points for both men’s and women’s apparel.

Inflation impacts are not evenly distributed across Belize’s regions, the data shows. Residents of the San Ignacio/Santa Elena area experienced the steepest cost increases nationwide, with a local annual inflation rate of 6.0% driven by broad higher prices across transport, groceries, electricity, rent, medical services, dining out, and clothing. At the other end of the spectrum, San Pedro Town recorded the nation’s lowest regional inflation rate at 3.4%, thanks to comparatively smaller increases in sea fares, dining costs, LPG, and medical services.

In a landmark ruling released July 29, 2026, the High Court has dealt a decisive defeat to businessman Kim Wai Chee and two Brads gaming companies, who launched a multimillion-dollar legal challenge against tax assessments tied to their Boledo and Jackpot gambling operations. Justice Nadine Nabie, presiding over the case, ruled that the claimants’ legal challenge was fundamentally misconceived and constituted an abuse of the court’s process.

While the judge confirmed that both Chee and Brads Gaming Company Limited held legal standing to bring the suit, she emphasized that the pair of firms and their representative skipped the mandatory, statutorily defined legal process required to contest tax evaluations under the nation’s Tax Administration and Procedure Act. Under the framework of this legislation, any taxpayer seeking to challenge an assessment must first complete an internal administrative review, followed by an appeal to a dedicated appellate body, before they are eligible to bring their claim before the High Court. Chee and the two Brads entities skipped these required steps entirely, instead filing a constitutional motion and administrative challenge directly with the High Court.

The claimants argued that the Director General of the tax authority had overstepped her legislative authority when issuing what are known as “best judgment” tax assessments. They claimed violations of multiple fundamental rights, including the right to protection under the law, equal protection under the law, and the right to natural justice and fair procedure. Following a trial held in 2025, Justice Nabie issued a 50-page ruling that addressed every technical argument raised by the claimants, ultimately finding no evidence of any fundamental rights violations.

Senior Counsel Magali Marin, who represented the government in the proceedings, explained that the best judgment assessments were only issued because of the claimants’ own failure to cooperate with tax authorities. The dispute traces back to March 2020, when Brads Gaming Company Limited’s exclusive operating license expired. In July of that same year, tax regulators requested the companies’ full financial records for the un-audited operating periods, but the firms failed to produce the required documentation. This non-compliance left tax authorities no option but to issue the best judgment evaluations.

The total value of the contested assessments stands at roughly $4.32 million: approximately $1.19 million against Brads Gaming Company Limited, and $3.13 million against Brads Gaming Group Limited. In her ruling, Justice Nabie upheld the tax authority’s legal power to issue the best judgment assessments, rejected all forms of relief requested by the claimants, and ordered Chee and the two companies to cover 50% of the government’s legal costs incurred during the proceedings.

Marin noted that the ruling clears the way for the tax authority to enforce the payment of the assessed taxes, including the seizure of assets if the companies hold recoverable assets. The ruling also included key clarification regarding Chee’s personal liability: while the assessments themselves were issued to the two corporate entities, Justice Nabie emphasized that the closure of the businesses and the shuttering of their physical offices does not release responsible officers like Chee from their legal obligations under tax law. In paragraph 51 of her judgment, the justice wrote that ruling otherwise would set an absurd precedent that would allow corporate leaders to evade tax duties simply by closing operations.