And moving now to southern Belize, the Ministry of Investment is on a tour of well-known agro-processors that operate out of that area. The first stop on the tour was Belize's favorite pepper sauce, Marie Sharp's Fine Foods. This company is one of the country's flagship brands and has been exporting pepper sauces to the USA, Canada, Japan, and Germany, among others. According to a press release, the purpose of the visit there was to get feedback from the company's manager on how the government can improve its incentive programs that aim to support the growth of the agro-processing sector in Belize.
In their discussion, the ministry learnt that hot pepper production has increased from 236,000 pounds in 2019 to 642,000 pounds in 2021, while production for 2022 is projected at 710,000. The company is also expanding its processing capacity from 90 bottles to 200 bottles per minute by undertaking a US 4 million dollar investment in equipment, production and storage space. The investment is due to an increase in export demand.
And from there, the ministry team headed over to Silk Grass Farms, Belize's newest agro processing facility. They are investing 60 million dollars in the production and value addition of coconut products such as coconut oil, coconut water, coconut milk, and other by-products. This facility will also process fruits and vegetables into various value-added products.
