By Belize Live News Staff: Close to one million pounds of red potatoes are at risk of rotting in cold storage containers in San Antonio village, as Mennonite farmers say the local market has collapsed under the weight of illegal contraband.
For months now, potato farmers in the area have been storing large volumes of produce, hopeful for sales that never came. “The wholesalers are not buying because they cannot sell these,” one farmer told reporters. “We’re talking about seven to eight thousand bags just sitting there… it’s like a problem. And what is really happening is the product is getting soft and starting to sprout.”
The farmer placed the blame on rampant smuggling of cheaper Mexican potatoes into Belize. “It’s just because too much contraband right now. So we’re faced by the same problem… if that would be stopped, we would have sold these potatoes in a month or two.”
According to the farmer, even though Belizean-grown potatoes are available in quantity and have been kept in storage since March, buyers are ignoring them. Some local vendors reportedly prefer the white, polished imports. “So it’s probably not you guys buying, but end of the day you guys are the problem because you prefer the Mexican too right,” he said.
The glut has left many farmers sitting on thousands of unsold bags. “I myself have like one thousand seven hundred bags left and our neighbors have like seven thousand altogether,” the farmer added. “We could say none at all [is selling].”
Efforts are underway to get the government to crack down on the influx of illegal foreign produce. But until then, farmers say their livelihood—and millions in local agricultural investment—hang in the balance.
