When it comes to a major source of inexpensive and readily available protein on tables in Belize and around the world, statistics say that 80 percent of it comes from poultry products. And while that's what's for lunch and Dinner, what's in the bank? Well, member states of the Caribbean Poultry Association produce as much as 390 million U.S. dollars worth of eggs and chickens annually. That's major money and the kind that needs to be safeguarded when the Free Trade Area of the Americas comes into effect. It is with this in mind and the possibility of increasing income through exportation, that the Caribbean Poultry Association met today in Belize city. Executive director Robert Best explains.
Robert Best – Executive Director Caribbean Poultry Association
"Today we are having a meeting which is looking at some work which the Carribean Poultry Association has been doing to understand the poultry industry in the Free Trade Area of the Americas and the government policies that surround the industry. So that we will know how we can improve our competitiveness and we can advise our government on what kind of policy instruments will help us to prosper in the Free Trade area."
"We are not coming to this with one side or the other. We are looking for the good and the bad and what we find is that the poultry industry is very important for most countries in the Americas. Because they all see it as an important supply of protein that the producers are growing more and more and that the people as their income rise they are eating more and more and which is and important part of their food security."
The Caribbean poultry association has 9 members states including Belize.