Belize Export Trade Data: $253.8M in 2023, Down 13.7%

Belize's Top Export Markets in 2023

Belize exported $253.84 million worth of goods in 2023, the latest year with verified trade data in this dataset. That total marks a decline of 13.7% from the $294.20 million recorded in 2022, ending two consecutive years of growth. The United States was the largest destination for Belize's exports, absorbing 28.0% of the total, worth $71.10 million.

United Kingdom ranked second at 17.3% ($43.91 million), ahead of Guatemala at 8.8% ($22.39 million) and Spain at 7.4% ($18.74 million). Trinidad & Tobago took fifth place at 6.1% ($15.51 million), followed by Honduras at 5.6% ($14.18 million) and Jamaica at 4.2% ($10.71 million). Poland took eighth place at 4.0% ($10.21 million), Ireland added 3.6% ($9.26 million), and Mexico rounded out the top ten at 2.7% ($6.76 million). Together, the top three destinations made up 54.1% of total export value.

The USA's leading position, absorbing more than a quarter of Belize's exports, reflects trade ties built over decades around sugar, citrus, and marine product supply chains that connect Belizean producers to American refiners, processors, and retailers. Guatemala's presence among the top three, despite sharing a land border with Belize, points to overland trade in fuel and agricultural goods running alongside the maritime routes that serve more distant markets like the United Kingdom and Spain.

Beyond the top three, Belize's remaining export destinations span Caribbean neighbors, European buyers, and regional processing hubs. Trinidad and Tobago's presence, worth $15.51 million, likely reflects trade ties within the Caribbean Community, while Honduras and Jamaica point to intra-Caribbean and Central American commerce in food and agricultural products. Poland and Ireland's appearance in the top ten suggests some of Belize's sugar and citrus output moves through European trading and processing channels rather than direct retail markets, and Mexico closes out the list as a neighboring market for smaller-volume shipments.

Sugar and Citrus Lead Export Categories

Sugars and sugar confectionery led all export categories in 2023, worth $86.89 million and accounting for 34.2% of total export value, more than double the share of any other category. Fruit and nuts, including citrus fruit and melon peel, followed at 13.1% ($33.29 million), and mineral fuels, mineral oils and related distillation products ranked third at 8.5% ($21.64 million).

Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates added 7.9% ($20.16 million), while food industry residues and prepared animal fodder contributed 6.5% ($16.61 million). Tobacco and related nicotine products brought in 5.6% ($14.20 million), and preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other plant parts added 5.0% ($12.62 million). Vegetables and certain roots and tubers contributed 1.8% ($4.53 million), miscellaneous edible preparations added 1.8% ($4.50 million), and live animals closed out the top ten at 1.6% ($4.10 million).

Sugar's dominant position, more than double the second-ranked fruit and nuts category, is consistent with the country's decades-old sugarcane processing industry centered in the northern Orange Walk district, where a single factory mills cane supplied by thousands of independent farmers and cane sugar remains a cornerstone of the rural economy. That concentration in agricultural commodities also lines up with the World Bank's description of Belize as an economy still heavily reliant on agriculture alongside tourism, with trade closely tied to the United States market.

Citrus fruit's strong second-place showing reflects Belize's position as a long-standing supplier of orange and grapefruit concentrate, an industry concentrated in the same northern growing districts that produce the country's sugarcane. Fish and crustaceans rounding out the top three product categories point to Belize's Caribbean coastline and its export trade in shrimp and other seafood, a sector distinct from the agricultural commodities that otherwise dominate the country's export mix.

A Rebound Followed by a Pullback

Belize's exports followed an uneven path over the past five years. Exports fell from $245.90 million in 2019 to $212.72 million in 2020, likely reflecting disrupted shipping and demand during the early stages of the global pandemic, then climbed for two straight years to $263.61 million in 2021 and further to $294.20 million in 2022, before declining 13.7% to $253.84 million in 2023. Even with the pullback, the 2023 total remains above every year prior to 2021, leaving the broader five-year trajectory higher than where it started despite the drop in the most recent year.

The size of the 2023 decline, coming right after the strongest year in the five-year window, suggests the pullback may reflect normalization from an unusually strong 2022 rather than a structural shift away from Belize's core export markets. For a closer look at how individual partner countries or product categories break down year over year, the data panels above provide the full detail behind these figures.