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Everyone knows about the Expofair in Chetumal – but ever heard of a Shrimp fair? Well, don’t feel bad if you haven’t; on August 14th and 15th they’ll hold the first International Shrimp Fair. It’s a showcase for shrimp producers from Honduras Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. Considering that half of the shrimp consumed in the state of Quintana Roo is from farms here in Belize, it’s a great opportunity for producers to make connects with potential buyers in Mexico. Mexico’s Ambassador to Belize explained that it’s also a great opportunity for regular folks to come out and eat some shrimp.

Luis Manuel Lopez-Moreno, Mexican Ambassador,
“The idea is to have a special fair. We buy shrimp from Belize to sell these shrimps in the Mexican area. So the main goal is pretty easy, it is to support the producers to support the sector of restaurants in Mexico and to promote the economic development of the region, that is the main idea. We need to promote and attract the public from Belize. We have 700,000 crossing every year from Belize to Mexico but we need to offer special activities, we need to offer special areas that can we use to promote economic growth in the region. That is the main reason for this special fair.”

Jules Vasquez,
“I heard you say at the end, ideally you would like Belizeans when they visit to go over there and eat Belizean shrimps cooked by a Mexican chef?”

Luis Manuel Lopez-Moreno,
“Exactly. 50% of the shrimp that we consume in Mexico and Quintana Roo is from Belize. We invite the producers to participate in this fair. We are promoting the world of this sector in Belize. I explained before that in Mexico and Quintana Roo we have no land to produce fresh products and we have no farms to produce shrimps for example and we are partners and we are promoting now that the producers from Belize can expand their companies and their sector using the Mexican market.

If we grow, Belize grows. If Belize grows, the Mexican areas here in Belize will grow as well. It is very simple and the idea is to have ideas.”

Since the global financial meltdown – Belize’s shrimp producers have been hurting as sales have dropped sharply. But with the recent resurgence of the tourism product in Mexico – sales are expected to go up again.