7 News Belize

Crying Over Spilt Milk
posted (April 14, 2020)
In the same way that the poultry producers are faced with a surplus of chicken that isn't selling on the local market, dairy producers from Spanish Lookout have also had to throw away milk that Belizeans aren't buying in the same quantities.

Here's what Reimer had to say about the huge financial losses to dairy producers:

Allen Reimer - Chairman, Quality Poultry
"The Dairy production in milk is in the same situation. It's basically all the fresh produce that we have in chicken, beef, milk, anything that has a very short shelf-life has been affected drastically. I hear that milk sales are down also a full 50%. They have resorted to making a lot of that milk into cheese, but so does the cheese stock. It goes up dramatically because they kept the cheese market basically full prior to this. So, the cheese market cannot absorb a flow of a lot more cheese, unless Belizeans will choose to buy the Belizean product. There is still a lot of cheese being imported as we speak."

"In the meantime, the milk is being dumped. There is a lot of milk being dumped because there is no market for it."

According to Reimer, dairy producers from Spanish Lookout have considered entering production to extend the shelf life of their milk products. The problem is it requires expensive equipment that only one local company may have access to in Belize. That transition is not an easy or quick one, and it does not help the dairy producers with the problem they are facing right now.

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

7 News Belize