March 2017 | Business View Caribbean

74 75 The Ministry of Economic Development, Petroleum, Investment, Trade, and Commerce n SBDCBelize provides customized needs- based services to Micro, Small, and Medi- um-sized Enterprises, in order to facilitate competitiveness and export readiness. n BTEC develops a cadre of well trained, marketable, and self-sufficient individuals to be able to confidently compete in the market- place by providing effective, demand-driven, user-friendly, and value-based programs that develop, deliver, and sustain a quality workforce. According to Taegar-Panton, her Ministry fo- cuses on six priority investment industries: n Tourism & Leisure –Tourism contributes approximately 40 percent of the country’s yearly GDP (USD $655 million), with approximately three fourths of its tourists coming from the U.S. and Canada. According to the National Tourism Master Plan, by 2030, the country ex- pects approximately 556,000 overnight arrivals per year with an average length of stay of over 8 days. Opportunities for investment include ecotourism, cruise tourism, nautical tourism, and medical tourism. Thus, the country is looking to expand its cruise and commercial sea ports and its airports. n Agri-Business & Agro-Processing–Belize continues to ramp up and diversify its export basket. Belize continues to export a greater share of its agricultural commodities, such as sugar, citrus, bananas, grains, cacao, cotton, co- conut oil, and vegetable extracts, among other value-added products. Currently, agribusiness contributes approximately 10.4 percent of GDP with a continued growth trajectory. n Fisheries & Aquaculture –Contributing 3.0 percent of GDP, Belize capture species include: spiny lobster, queen conch, sea cucumber, and finfish. Its culture species include: Pacific white shrimp, Nile tilapia, and cobia all of which are currently consumed locally and exported to various regional markets. Additional areas of investment opportunity also include: snapper, grouper, red drum, and octopus. Belize’s main markets include the U.S, Canada, Asia, Europe, Mexico, Guatemala, and the CARICOM countries. n Offshore Outsourcing - These include: Busi- ness Process Outsourcing (BPO), Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO), and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO). Today, Belize has over 20 outsourcing operations, employing over 2,500 people. Its strengths include: a modern telecom infrastructure; a young, bilingual work- force; competitive salaries; strong government support; incentive programs; and international connectivity with direct flights to multiple des- tinations in the U.S., Canada as well as Central