BELIZEAN BUSINESSES REPORT SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS CAUSED BY COVID-19;
MOST ADAPT TO CHANGING CONDITIONS TO REMAIN IN OPERATION
In November 2020, the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) carried out the
Impact of COVID-19 on Business Establishments Survey. This survey was
conducted on a sample of approximately 2,500 randomly selected businesses
across the country and across all main industry groups, to collect data on the
ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected operations and staffing.
The sample was selected from the SIB’s Statistical Business Register, a listing
of all businesses which had been formally registered with either the Social
Security Board or the Belize Tax Services Department and, therefore, did not
include informal establishments which were not registered with either agency.
Data was collected using Computer Assisted Web Interviewing, used for the
first time in an SIB survey, in combination with Computer Assisted Telephone
Interviewing, yielding a response rate of approximately 50 percent.
Some 61.3
percent of establishments reported that they had been highly impacted
by decreased demand for their products and services. Similarly, 64.3
percent indicated that they had been highly impacted by reduced weekly
revenues. More than 46 percent of businesses had been highly impacted
by the cancellation of contracts by customers. Other major effects of the
pandemic on establishments included difficulty in sourcing needed items
from suppliers, heightened public fears causing customers to stay away
from businesses’ physical locations, cancellation of important meetings or
events, and setbacks resulting from not being able to have all staff on-site.
CONSUMER PRICES INCREASE 1.3% IN FEBRUARY 2021
The most recent results from the Statistical Institute of Belize’s
monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) survey showed that, for the
month of February 2021, the national inflation rate stood at 1.3
percent. The national inflation rate for the month measures the
percent change in prices between a given month and the same month
in the previous year. The All-Items Consumer Price Index, which
summarizes all categories of goods and services, rose from 100.7 in
February 2020 to 102 in February 2021 (see Figure 1). This indicates
that, on average, prices for items contained in the basket of goods
and services commonly purchased by Belizean households were 1.3
percent higher than they were last February. This was mainly the
result of higher costs for food items, personal care products, home
rentals and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), being partially offset by
lower prices for hotel accommodations, footwear and motor vehicle
fuels.
IMPORTS DOWN 7.1%, DOMESTIC EXPORTS UP 58.2% IN FEBRUARY 2021
Belize’s total imports for the month of February
2021 were valued at $139.8 million. This was a decrease of 7.1 percent
or $10.7 million from imports for February 2020, which totaled $150.5
million.
Total domestic exports for February 2021
amounted to $31.2 million, up considerably by 58.2 percent or $11.5
million when compared to exports for February 2020, which were
valued at $19.7 million.
Belizean businesses report significant impacts caused by COVID-19 in November 2020; consumer prices increase 1.3 percent, imports down 7.1 percent and domestic exports up 58.2 percent in February 2021
Business Establishment Survey
In November 2020, the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) carried out the Impact of COVID-19 on Business Establishments Survey. This survey was conducted on a sample of approximately 2,500 randomly selected businesses across the country and across all main industry groups, to collect data on the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected operations and staffing. Countrywide, the total number of persons employed by formally registered businesses declined sharply by an estimated 35.8 percent between March 2020 and November 2020. As of November 2020, approximately 86 percent of formally registered business establishments in the country were able to remain in operation. About 11 percent of establishments indicated that they had closed temporarily due to COVID-19, while about 2 percent had permanently ceased operations.
The most recent results from the Statistical Institute of Belize’s monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) survey showed that, for the month of February 2021, the national inflation rate stood at 1.3 percent. The All-Items Consumer Price Index, which summarizes all categories of goods and services, rose from 100.7 in February 2020 to 102 in February 2021. This indicates that, on average, prices for items contained in the basket of goods and services commonly purchased by Belizean households were 1.3 percent higher than they were last February. The year-to-date or cumulative inflation rate for the first two months of 2021, when compared to the first two months in 2020, stood at 1.2 percent.
Belize’s total imports for the month of February 2021 were valued at $139.8 million. This was a decrease of 7.1 percent or $10.7 million from imports for February 2020, which totaled $150.5 million. Merchandise imports for the first two months of the year, January to February 2021, amounted to $271.6 million, representing a 12.7 percent or $39.6 million decrease from the same period last year.
Total domestic exports for February 2021 amounted to $31.2 million, up considerably by 58.2 percent or $11.5 million when compared to exports for February 2020, which were valued at $19.7 million. Merchandise exports for the period January to February 2021 totaled $47.4 million, up 32.7 percent or $11.7 million from the same period last year.
Severe Impact on Belizean Business Due to Covid-19
The numbers are in and as expected, most Belizean businesses have managed to weather the Covid1-9 storm, but a few have gone under. Today the Statistical Institute of Belize released data from the Business Establishments Survey which examined two thousand five hundred registered businesses, mostly sole proprietors, for the periods March to November 2020. Eighty-six percent were able to remain open, but some closed temporarily, due to a drop in demand for their products and services, cancellation of contracts, or fear by customers of coming to their physical premises. Of those that shuttered permanently, most were in the Corozal District. Countrywide, however, there were considerable layoffs, mostly of part time workers. Eighteen percent of companies let staff go and twenty percent reduced working hours. Seven percent reduced salaries. Wholesale and retail as well as hospitality and food services reported up to ninety-four percent declines in revenue compared to the same period the previous year. Among the survival tactics were changing the way they interacted with customers, including using social media and online ordering. While working from home became commonplace internationally, this was not embraced by Belizean businesses; less than two percent did this. Again, the survey only collected data up to November of 2020. At that time many of those surveyed indicated they did not know how long they could keep operating under covid-19 restrictions, so these figures may not be reflective of the current situation and may be better, or worse, than the survey results for last year.
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