And just like Hurricane Iota, a storm of cattle is moving west. The informal trade that was hindered severely by the pandemic is alive and well today after the new Minister of Agriculture, Jose Mai, told farmers to pack it up and ship it out.
Over the weekend our newsroom received reports of truck loads of cattle, carrying the PUP flag aloft, traveling on the George Price Highway on their way to the Guatemalan border.
It's a relief for farmers whose livestock was losing value while they were stuck in the pastures. And today, the chairman of the Belize Livestock Producers Association, Ramon Galveston, told us via phone that while he didn't have exact numbers, he could confirm that a LOT of cattle has been moved, and farmers are ecstatic.
Voice of: Ramon Galveston, Chairman, BLPA
"We are very happy, because we couldn't move cattle before, It was stagnant. All we wanted was to be able to release that glut which we couldn't release formally, because it took a little longer to make it formally and sure enough we are going to go formal eventually, but we just wanted that little break so we can eventually go formal which they will have to do. But for the moment in these Covid times, we sure need to help those farmers, especially those young farmers who borrowed money to start when they diversified into cattle which looks so promising and suddenly they tell them you can't sell your cattle. It was very hard. They cried out, they said like they cut our throats, but now that the new government came in they promise us that they would give us a break and they have given us a break and we do appreciate that. A lot of farmers called me and happy thanking the government, the Minister Mai thanking him and I am glad that they did it."
The board of BLPA will be having a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the numbers, and we'll have an update for you then.
