Belize's major partners are NAFTA, the UK, CARICOM and the EU. In 1999, the US imported 48% of Belize's total exports, and supplied 53% of all Belizean imports.
The Belize export market depends mostly upon agriculture, in particular on the sugars, and fruit and nut trade (23% and 24%, respectively). There are a few clothing exporters that deal in men's outerwear and undergarments; accounting for 11% of Belize's exports. Other substantial exports include shellfish (18%), wood (1.2%), and vegetables (1.7%).
In 1999 Belize's imports were distributed among the following categories:
Consumer goods | 16.4% |
Food | 14.2% |
Fuels | 9.3% |
Industrial supplies | 29.7% |
Machinery | 16.3% |
Transportation | 11.1% |
Other | 3.0% |
Principal trading partners in 1999 (in millions of US dollars) were as follows:
COUNTRY | EXPORTS | IMPORTS | BALANCE |
United States | 85 | 189 | -104 |
United Kingdom | 45 | 15 | 30 |
Denmark | 12 | 21 | -9 |
Mexico | 7 | 45 | -38 |
France | 6 | 3 | 3 |
Jamaica | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Netherlands | 4 | 4 | 0 |
Canada | 3 | 5 | -2 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 3 | 4 | -1 |
Guatemala | 1 | 10 | -9 |