Last night 7NEWS broke the story (SeeGOB Bans Importation of Soft Drinks) that by way of a statutory instrument, effective last Saturday, government has banned the importation of aerated beverages. So possibly, with the exception of diet drinks, Busta, Ritz, Chek, and other imported beverages may soon be a thing of the past, and your only choice in soda will be soft drinks bottled locally by Bowen and Bowen Limited.
If you are a fan of these foreign flavors, there is some modestly good news. A representative from Grace Kennedy Limited, importers of the popular Busta drinks, told us that they are currently overstocked and have about 2 months supply of Busta in the country. Grace Kennedy's Marketing Manager told us they hope the ban is only temporary since government passed a similar S.I. about three years ago which was in effect only for a short period.
That is also case with the Wellworth Group of stores which imports Chek brand can sodas from the USA. They told us today that while they have a fair amount of Chek in stock, it will only last about another month. And while Chek and Busta will remain on store shelves for at least the next month, the importer of doctor pepper and mountain dew told us his stock has completely ran out and he cannot get a permit to import new stock.
Figures provided to 7NEWS say that 3 million cases of soft drinks were sold in Belize last year. Barry Bowen's Coca-Cola products dominated the market while Grace Kennedy says Busta only amounts for about 1% of all soft drinks sale. The Chek importer says his sodas account for about 5% of soft drink sales.
Again today we tried to get a rationale for the statutory instrument but no one from the Ministry of Commerce, under whose responsibility local trade falls, would comment. The SI banning the importation is also yet to be published.
