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Country Commercial Guides for FY 2000: Belize Report prepared by U.S. Embassy Belize City, released July 1999 Note*

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

THIS COUNTRY COMMERCIAL GUIDE (CCG) PRESENTS A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT BELIZE'S COMMERCIAL ENVIRONMENT, USING ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND MARKET ANALYSIS. THE CCGS WERE ESTABLISHED BY RECOMMENDATION OF THE TRADE PROMOTION COORDINATING COMMITTEE (TPCC), A MULTI-AGENCY TASK FORCE, TO CONSOLIDATE VARIOUS REPORTING DOCUMENTS PREPARED FOR THE U.S. BUSINESS COMMUNITY. COUNTRY COMMERCIAL GUIDES ARE PREPARED ANNUALLY AT U.S. EMBASSIES THROUGH THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF SEVERAL U.S. GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.

BELIZE, THE SECOND SMALLEST (8,866 SQUARE MILES) AND LEAST POPULATED COUNTRY IN CENTRAL AMERICA (1998 EST. POP. 239,000), HAS AN OPEN, PRIVATE SECTOR-LED ECONOMY BASED PRIMARILY ON EXPORT AGRICULTURE AND SERVICES. TOURISM CONTINUES TO BE THE NUMBER ONE FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNER FOLLOWED, IN RANKING ORDER, BY CANE SUGAR, CITRUS, BANANAS, MARINE PRODUCTS, AND GARMENTS. AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION CONTINUES TO BE ONE OF GOB'S MAIN ECONOMIC STRATEGIES TOWARDS INCREASED FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND IMPORT SUBSTITUTION.

BELIZE IS A CONSUMER NATION, RELYING HEAVILY ON FOREIGN TRADE. AS IN PAST YEARS, THE UNITED STATES CONTINUES TO BE BELIZE'S NUMBER ONE TRADING PARTNER. IN 1998, THE U.S. IMPORTED 37 PERCENT OF BELIZE'S TOTAL EXPORTS AND SUPPLIED 49 PERCENT OF ALL BELIZEAN IMPORTS. THESE PROPORTIONS REFLECTED A 89 MILLION DOLLAR U.S. TRADE SURPLUS WITH BELIZE, UP 33 PERCENT FROM 1997. OTHER MAJOR TRADING PARTNERS INCLUDE MEXICO, UNITED KINGDOM, WESTERN EUROPE, GUATEMALA, CANADA, AND CARICOM MEMBER STATES.

DESPITE ITS SMALL MARKET SIZE, AMERICAN SUPPLIERS SHOULD NOT OVERLOOK BELIZE'S UNIQUE ADVANTAGES AS A POTENTIAL TRADING PARTNER: PROXIMITY TO THE UNITED STATES, STRONG CULTURAL INFLUENCES FROM NORTH AMERICA, AND EXCELLENT TRANSPORTATION LINKS TO THE U.S. ENGLISH IS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE, AND THE EXCHANGE RATE IS PEGGED TO THE U.S. DOLLAR. (TWO BELIZE DOLLARS EQUALS ONE U.S. DOLLAR.)

FOREIGN INVESTORS ARE REQUIRED TO REGISTER ANY INVESTMENT WITH THE CENTRAL BANK OF BELIZE TO FACILITATE THE REPATRIATION OF PROFITS AND DIVIDENDS. INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ARE EXCELLENT AND BUSINESS SERVICE PROVIDERS SUCH AS CONSULTANTS, ACCOUNTANTS, REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS AND ATTORNEYS ARE READILY AVAILABLE. THE GOVERNMENT'S INVESTMENT GUIDE CONTAINS A LIST OF PREFERRED AREAS IN WHICH INVESTORS ARE GENERALLY ENCOURAGED TO INVEST, INCLUDING AGRO-INDUSTRIES, TOURISM, LIGHT MANUFACTURING, AND FORESTRY-BASED INDUSTRIES.

THE RULING PEOPLE'S UNITED PARTY ADMINISTRATION HAS EMBARKED ON A MAJOR MULTI-MILLION HOUSING PROJECT TO BUILD 10,000 UNITS IN FULFILLMENT OF A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PROMISE IT MADE IN AUGUST 1998. SO FAR GOVERNMENT HAS CONSTRUCTED ONLY ABOUT ONE HUNDRED HOUSES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THERE ARE ALSO SEVERAL CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY OR PLANNED TO BEGIN IN 1999/2000. THE LARGEST OF THESE, A $50 MILLION-PLUS PROJECT TO REHABILITATE THE SOUTHERN HIGHWAY, HAS ALREADY STARTED AND IS FUNDED WITH A COMBINATION OF LOANS AND GRANTS FROM THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK AND THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, TAIWAN, AND KUWAIT. REHABILITATION OF THE REMAINING 15 MILES OF THE HUMMINGBIRD HIGHWAY IS ALMOST COMPLETED; GOVERNMENT ALSO PLANS TO REHABILITATE A 20-MILE DIVERSION ROAD OFF THE NORTHERN HIGHWAY INTO THE WESTERN HIGHWAY. A $3-MILLION PLUS PROJECT TO CONSTRUCT A BY-PASS ROAD OFF TOWN LIMITS IN ORANGE WALK IS PLANNED TO COMMENCE LATER THIS YEAR.

COUNTRY COMMERCIAL GUIDES ARE AVAILABLE FOR U.S. EXPORTERS FROM THE NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK'S CD-ROM OR VIA THE INTERNET. PLEASE CONTACT STAT-USA AT 1-800-STAT-USA FOR MORE INFORMATION. COUNTRY COMMERCIAL GUIDES CAN BE ACCESSED VIA THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT HTTP://WWW.STAT-USA.GOV; HTTP://WWW.STATE.GOV/; AND HTTP://WWW.MAC.DOC.GOV. CCGS CAN ALSO BE ORDERED IN HARD COPY OR ON DISKETTE FROM THE NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE (NTIS) AT 1-800-553-NTIS. U.S. EXPORTERS SEEKING GENERAL EXPORT INFORMATION/ASSISTANCE AND COUNTRY-SPECIFIC COMMERCIAL INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, TRADE INFORMATION CENTER BY TELEPHONE AT 1-800-USA-TRAD (E) OR BY FAX AT (202) 482-4473.