Belize Looks to Expand Beef Export Market

As Belize looks to expand its export portfolio, government officials are also turning their attention to the livestock sector, particularly the potential to move beyond the export of live cattle and into the export of processed beef products.  Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Oscar Arnold, says the country has an opportunity to add greater value to its cattle industry by exporting beef cuts rather than relying primarily on cattle-on-the-hoof exports. According to Arnold, this approach would allow Belize to retain more economic benefits locally while creating additional jobs in processing, packaging, and distribution.  He noted that recent developments have opened new possibilities for Belizean beef producers, including access to the Mexican market.

Oscar Arnold, CEO, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “I believe that since the market has opened, the Mexican market has opened, there’s been more investment. Cattle farmers, local cattle farmers, and a lot of them are small cattle farmers have looked at this as a new revenue stream. And so it is significant because year over year, the exportation, the dollar value of the exportation has increased. I will say there’s one caveat, that the Mexican market is open for the importation of cold cuts. Cattle that has already been processed and has already been cut. And so I believe that the next important investment has to be for a facility where we can process these meats. The Mexicans have a quota that they need to fill and once you fall within that quota, it is tariff free. Currently, they’re importing cold cuts. They’re importing cuts from as far away as Brazil and Argentina. So Belize is strategically placed that once we get a facility like that going, we will have almost open access, if not long-term access to the Mexican market for the sale of our meat products.”

Just earlier this month, former Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai spoke with Love News about ongoing efforts to improve the quality and value of Belize’s livestock industry. Mai highlighted an innovative breeding project underway in northern Belize that utilizes imported Akaushi cattle genetics, a Japanese breed renowned for producing premium, highly marbled beef. Through a partnership involving local ranchers Abram Froese and Henry Peters, the initiative has successfully produced a first-generation crossbreed and is testing feedlot-finishing techniques aimed at positioning Belize to compete in higher-value beef markets in the future.