Chicken is one of the most affordable forms of protein in Belize - and it's also the national dish- whether you eat it fried, stewed or grilled.
In fact, the Belize Poultry Association says that the average annual per capita consumption of chicken meat for every Belizean is approximately 109 pounds per year.
So, basically, you likely won't lose money selling chicken to Belizeans! And that logic has propelled Caribbean Chicken - already one of the largest poultry processors in Belize - to expand its cold storage unit. They gave the Minister of Agriculture a walk through of their facility in Blue Creek yesterday. Jomarie Lanza reports.
Yesterday Caribbean chicken organized a tour for the minister of agriculture and his technical team to observe the facility in Blue Creek and gain an understanding of the latest advancements in poultry processing. The minister says he is impressrd with the progress the company continues to make.
Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture
"They had extended an invitation for us for some time now it was until today that we caught up with them. They had done some expansion since 2020 when we were elected, they had visited us at our office asking for support in expansion of their cold storage facility. I think that their sales have increased annually, and so they need to expand and so they asked us to look at how the investment was made and to see the throughput. It's very impressive what they have done here and most impressive is the amount of people that work here we have close to 200 employees here on the facility and about 500 total across the country working in the stores and so on so besides contributing to food security the company is contributing also to employment and gainful employment. I wasn't aware that since the government increase the minimum wage from $3 to $5 it has created significant impact in the lives of Belizeans and the manager explained to me that one of the most selling parts was neck and back. But ever since the government raised the minimum wage from $3 to $5 that neck and back is selling least and the whole chicken has increased."
Their operations have expanded significantly and to keep up with the growing demand for chicken they are seeking to broaden their production line and increase their storage facilities.
Gerhard Friesen, Chairman, Caribbean Chicken
"Our goal is to produce the best quality chicken for the consumers countrywide. So whenever they buy a Caribbean chicken product that they can feel safe to produce it and for their food at home. And as far as the minister of agriculture, we invited him to show our support for him and give thanks to all of the support that the government has been giving us through this time of the administration."
"We have basically outgrown the capacity of our freezer for storing our poultry, so hopefully this will be enough for the capacity for the next 5 to 10 years."
"By the end of this year the freezer should be complete."
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