Belize stakeholders engaged on use of market intelligence tools

(CARIFORUM Directorate, CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Georgetown, Guyana) – The CARIFORUM Directorate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Belize, recently partnered to host a webinar on market intelligence to leverage opportunities within CARIFORUM’s Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK).
This knowledge-sharing activity, held on 22 October, targeted farmers, agro-processors, export promotion agencies, trade-support institutions, business associations, and representatives from the public and private sectors.
The latest in a series of similar webinars, this session was facilitated by Trade Information Officer of the CARIFORUM Directorate, Ms. Pauline Paul, and Technical Coordinator for the Implementation of the CARIFORUM–UK EPA, Mr. Audel Cunningham.

During the opening, Director General for Foreign Trade in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Belize, Mr. Andy Sutherland, said the activity was as “timely and forward-looking.” He underscored the benefits of these capacity building initiatives to translate the EPAs’ potential into tangible benefits for the private sector in Belize.
Participants received practical guidance on identifying goods with strong export potential, developing market entry strategies, and applying data-driven approaches to navigate trade regulations in the EU and the UK.
They were also introduced to EPA-related market intelligence tools, including the CARIFORUM Export Potential Map and Access2Markets, which offer detailed information on import requirements and regulatory frameworks in both regions.
In addition, the discussion covered measures adopted by the EU and UK to address the climate crisis and enhance border security, which may affect CARIFORUM-EU and CARIFORUM-UK trade relations. These include the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (EU and UK), the Deforestation-free Products Regulation (EU) and the Border Target Operating Model (UK). Participants were encouraged to use available sources of market intelligence to understand the scope of the measures and to develop strategies to meet the regulatory requirements they impose.
Chief Policy Analyst from the Chamber of Commerce in Belize, Reyhan Rosado, thanked the Directorate for hosting the webinar, noting its value in supporting CARIFORUM stakeholders’ export endeavours.

Read full article at _Caribbean Community (CARICOM)