IS THERE REALLY A SCARCITY OF LOCALLY PRODUCED CHEESE?


Love News received several reports that there was a shortage of locally produced cheese. We spoke to Manager at Western Dairies in Spanish Lookout Henry Dueck to find out what is the situation.

Henry Dueck:



It started actually a couple years ago. We had a surplus on cheese right and we were asking the government to close the borders on cheese importation and they were helping us out in doing so. Since the middle of last year we have been running a little lower and we were stabilizing it but by November and December we were running out of the surplus. So we sent them a letter asking them if we could allow imports already so then now I don't know what went wrong but all the way up to January nobody imported any cheese. Now since then they've imported cheese and it should be stabilizing out because another shipment is coming in at the end of this week.



We asked Dueck if they are able to sustain the demand on the local market.

Henry Dueck:



The government was regulating the imports and before there were importing fifty percent and buying from us fifty precent. We were able to produce more than fifty percent. I don't know if you are aware of the deal the government had with importers that they had to buy x amount of cheese locally and then they could import the same amount. That was before they closed the borders but now if they go back to the fifty-fifty we'll have plenty of cheese again. It all depends on how much people import.

Cheesey, but true.

I am sick and tired of whining local producers of cheese as well as other food and beverage producers crying to the government to ban imports. We're supposed to live in a free country but no country can be free if you can't even buy a decent cheddar.

The locally produced cheese is like soap, I won't eat it because it's expensive AND disgusting.

I'm sick of the whining about cheese too. I know better than to expect the cheese to taste just like home. So, I just take my own from home. A nice big block of Kraft Cheddar, sometimes Medium, sometimes Old (seriously, I do that).

Of course, I don't go out for pizza when I'm in San Pedro . . or any other Caribbean destinations.

One of the major reasons that I bring my own cheese is because I like to make my own brekkie before diving. Often, I make myself a cheese omelet or a ham and cheese quesadea.

All that said, if I were Pedro1 or KzK, eventually, I'd be asking my board buddies to bring me down a big block of cheese or some smoked salmon or some bisquick or some Jello treats (mmMmm, and don't I start to crave ridiculous things that I don't even normally eat, for instance, processed tapioca puddings).

I know that on my longer trips, whether those be in the Caribbean or SE Asia, after a few weeks, I really start to miss food from home. Not even *good* food from home, just some of the processed crap that I've become used to over my lifetime, in my sad and sorry North American diet.

Thank heavens Papi's and Jambel's make some awesome pork chop dishes.

As it is, cheese aside, on the very off chance that I'll be ordering fries instead of rice, from time to time, I have with me, little packages of ketchup, etc. (picked up from the fast food places up here) BTW, this is always a serious recommendation I make to parents travelling with children.

Further, I almost always take salt and pepper with me. You know, when you are eating some awesome chicken but the salt shaker is all gummy and rusty and the rice is packing up the shaker holes, it's so nice to have your own little luncheonette package of salt that you can pull from your purse. Or the pepper just isn't the kind of black grind you are used to? Pull out your little pack(s) that you picked up at the A&W. MmmMmm, don't that chicken or those pork chops taste so damn good with our own North American mediocre spices?

Seashell, when was your last visit to the island? Are you visiting again soon?

now that was cheesy

Good selection today at Brodies, Brie, gorganzola, smoked gouda, feta.

katie, are you talking about Brodies in Belize City?

As of last week there was no local cheese to be had in San Ignacio. However, you could buy this great brie at killer prices at Selina's, go figure. And a LOT OF VISITORS love the locally produced cheese, trust me I know. Support Belizian products!

FYI, some real New Zealand cheddar found its way into a couple of the local shops here on the island a few days ago. It was in 3lb blocks. It SOLD OUT even before the shops had a chance to look at their supplier invoices and figure out the price per pound. Most of the buyers were local San Pedranos.

My lovely wife was one of them.