External Trade Bulletin
IMPORTS DOWN 2.6%, EXPORTS DOWN 43.1% IN FEBRUARY
IMPORTS
FEBRUARY: Belize's total imports for the month of February 2016
were valued at $168.3 million. This was a decrease of 2.6 percent
or $4.6 million from imports for February 2015, which totaled $172.9
million.
Imports destined for the 'Export Processing Zones', which fell sharply
from $12 million to $4.5 million, were the primary contributors to the
month's decline. Reduced purchases of shrimp feed and machinery
for preparing tobacco, for the most part, were responsible for this
decline. Despite a slight increase in the quantity of premium fuel
imported, Belize spent almost $6 million less on 'Mineral Fuels and
Lubricants', as fuel prices remained lower when compared to the
same month of 2015. Imports into the 'Commercial Free Zones' and
purchases of 'Chemical Products' fell by $2 million and $1.5 million,
respectively, in the month of February. While the reduction in the
former was attributed to fewer clothing purchases, the latter resulted
from a drop in fertilizer imports.
In contrast, imports of 'Machinery and Transport Equipment',
'Other Manufactures' and 'Food and Live Animals' all grew in the
month of February. 'Machinery and Transport Equipment' rose by
$4.6 million, owing to increased purchases of computer networking
hardware, agricultural equipment and four-cylinder vehicles.
'Other Manufactures' increased by $3 million, the result of greater
purchases of laboratory equipment, while imports of 'Food and Live
Animals' went up by $2 million.
EXPORTS
FEBRUARY: Domestic exports for February 2016 totaled $29.6
million, a 43.1 percent or $22.4 million decrease from the $52 million
recorded in February 2015, with all of Belize's major commodities
declining during the month. Sales of marine products fell by more than
a half from $10 million to $4 million, as farm shrimp exports declined
by over $6 million. Sugar earnings were down from $8 million to $3
million, owing to a change in the scheduling of shipments and the fact
that only bagged sugar was exported for the month. This shortfall in
comparison to earnings for 2015 is expected to balance out with a
bulk shipment scheduled for March of this year. Citrus and banana exports declined by $3.5 million dollars each, as orange concentrate sales
dwindled by nearly a third and banana sales were cut by almost a half. Additionally, while more than $6 million in crude petroleum was exported
during February 2015, there was none exported during the month of February 2016. Animal feed exports, on the other hand, doubled during the
month.
As was observed for the month of February, all major exports declined over the two month period. Marine sales suffered the sharpest drop from
$22 million to $7 million, resulting in a loss in earnings of over two thirds compared to the same two months in 2015. Additionally, papayas, while
having less of an impact on overall export earnings, recorded a sharp decline in sales for the first two months of the year.
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Consumer Price Index
CONSUMER PRICES UP 0.3% IN FEBRUARY AS FUEL
PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE
The Statistical Institute of Belize's latest figures on consumer
prices show that the All-Items Consumer Price Index stood
at 102.7, an increase of 0.3 percent from 102.5 recorded in
February 2015. This means that the prices of various goods and
services purchased by Belizean households were, on average,
0.3 percent higher in February 2016 than they were in February
of 2015.
An increase of 0.9 percent was observed in the "Food & Non-
Alcoholic Beverages" category when compared to the same
period last year. At the individual product level, higher prices were
seen for beef, pork, fish, eggs and fresh vegetables. Lower prices
for Red Kidney beans partially offset these increases.
The "Transport" category recorded an overall decrease of just over
4 percent when compared to last February, despite an increase of
0.7 percent in the "Fuel" index. Premium gasoline prices saw a 27
percent spike while regular gasoline was up by about 3 percent.
In contrast, the average price of diesel fuel declined by 9 percent
and international airfares were down by 32 percent.
Within the category of "Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other
Fuels", home rental prices rose by 0.7 percent in comparison
to last February. This increase was, however, offset by lower
electricity tariffs and LPG prices, with the latter falling from $93.14
per 100-pound cylinder in February 2015 to $82.60 in February
2016. The result was a marginal increase of 0.1 percent in prices
for the category as a whole.
Prices for "All Other Categories of Goods and Services" saw an
average increase of 1.5 percent during the period. This was as
a result of higher motor vehicle and health insurance premiums,
doctor consultation fees, and restaurant and hotel prices.
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Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 4th Quarter of 2015
SLOW BUT POSITIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN FOURTH QUARTER 2015
Preliminary estimates by the Statistical Institute of Belize indicate that,
for the three months from October to December 2015, the country's
level of economic activity increased marginally by 0.6 percent compared
with the same period in 2014. The total value of goods and services
produced in Belize during the fourth quarter rose by almost $4 million
dollars from $657.4 million in 2014 to $661.1 million in 2015.
Primary Activities: The primary sector experienced a sharp drop
of 27.4 percent in total production for the period, as several major
industries recorded downturns during the quarter. Marine production
was significantly lower compared to the fourth quarter of 2014, due to a
decline in farm shrimp production. Banana shipments also decreased,
by 25 percent or more than 7 thousand metric tons, as unseasonably
dry weather conditions affected the maturity of the plants. Livestock
production was down during the quarter, as both cattle and swine saw
decreases for the period.
With sugarcane deliveries starting in December 2015, a month earlier
than in the previous delivery season, production of over 122 thousand
metric tons was recorded for the fourth quarter of 2015, while there was
no sugarcane production recorded for the same quarter of 2014. Citrus
fruit deliveries also saw an increase during the three month period,
with orange production in particular rising by about 2.5 thousand metric
tons.
Secondary Activities: For the fourth quarter of 2015, secondary
activities saw an increase of 8.4 percent, driven by strong performances
in "Electricity and Water" and "Construction". Electricity production
grew by more than 18 percent, with hydroelectricity generation surging
due to higher levels of water in the reservoirs prior to the start of the
rainy season. Water distribution was up by 8 percent during the last
three months of 2015 when compared to the same period of 2014, as
new connections were added to more rural communities in the country.
Construction activities saw a 5 percent increase during the quarter, as
a result of ongoing works on municipal recreational parks and other
infrastructural developments. This was reflected in a 9 percent growth
in construction loans issued by commercial banks.
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You may download the entire series for both External Trade and CPI in Excel format from the Statistical Institute of Belize website: (http://www.sib.org.bz/statistics)