And while Jamaicans may not be able to travel as freely to Belize as before, we're hoping that our poultry product can fly into freezers over there.
That's because Caricom is looking within the region to buy poultry to fill the shortages they have been experiencing. And according to Mai, Belize's poultry prices are competitive enough that others in the Caribbean may soon be enjoying "fi wi chikin."
Jose Mai, Minister of Agriculture
"I do know there is a shortage, there's a demand, I should say it's a demand, for poultry in the region. Caricom, who is a net importer of poultry from the US, US has the cheapest poultry, it's heavily subsidized, but even so, it appears, from the producers of poultry in the country, it appears our price at this time is competitive with other producers and so the Caricom is looking to this side now to see if we can supply some of the shortages they have in the region because Mexico has avian influenza, I think the US has it too, I was in Naples a couple months ago, and they were selling a chick, a day old chick, for $20US and the people offering it to those living in the rural areas, a chick for $20US, I remember one of my friends saying that's craziness but it just shows you that the price of poultry is high, the demand is high, and therefore it's an opportunity for countries like us because we are self sufficient in poultry production, and corn, and soybean now, so that is a plus for us right it's an opportunity for us if it happens, we are still waiting for the Jamaicans to get back to us."
