Once called British Honduras, the independent Commonwealth country now named Belize shipped US$277 million worth of products around the world in 2024.

That dollar amount results from a 30.8% upturn compared to $211.9 million 5 years earlier during 2020.

From 2023 to 2024, the overall value of Belizean exports advanced by 9.1% from $253.8 million.

The only country in Central America having English as its official language, Belize is located along Central America’s eastern cost and shares its northern land border with Mexico. In the real world, however, English-based Kriol (also called Belizean Creole) is the language most native Belizeans speak from day to day.

Belize’s Top Trading Partners

The latest available country-specific data shows that 91.9% of products exported from Belize was bought by importers in: United Kingdom (31.1% of the Belizean total), United States of America (29.4%), Trinidad/Tobago (6.7%), Honduras (4.7%), Ireland (4.4%), Guatemala (3.6%), Jamaica (3.5%), Mexico (2.9%), Barbados (1.6%), Suriname (1.42%), Guyana (1.4%) and Germany (1%).

From a continental perspective, 39.2% of Belize’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 32.4% was sold to importers in North America. Belize shipped another 26.9% worth of goods to customers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.

Smaller percentages went to buyers in Asia (1.4%) then Oceania’s Australia only (0.2%).

Given Belize’s population of 411,000 people, its total $277 million in 2024 exports translates to roughly $675 for every resident in the Central American nation. That per-capita amount exceeds the average $560 for 2023.

Belize’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Belizean global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Belize.

1. Sugar, sugar confectionery: US$102.4 million (37% of total exports)
2. Fruits, nuts: $43.5 million (15.7%)
3. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $20.7 million (7.5%)
4. Mineral fuels including oil: $19 million (6.9%)
5. Fish: $18.8 million (6.8%)
6. Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $13.1 million (4.7%)
7. Food industry waste, animal fodder: $7.3 million (2.6%)
8. Live animals: $6 million (2.2%)
9. Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $5.9 million (2.1%)
10. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $4.8 million (1.7%)

Belize’s top 10 exports accounted for 87.2% of the overall value of its global shipments.

Optical, technical and medical apparatus was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 2,386% from 2023 to 2024.

In second place for improving export sales was beverages, spirits and vinegar via a 64.4% upturn.

Belize’s shipments of vegetable, fruit or nut preparations posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 63.8%.

The leading decliner among Belize’s top 10 export categories was food industry waste and animal fodder, thanks to a -56% year-over-year drop.

At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, sugar (32.9% of its global total) is Belize’s most valuable exported product. In second place were bananas and plantains (15.2%) trailed by fruit or vegetable juices (7.4%), processed petroleum oils (6.9%), cigarettes, cigars and cigarellos (4.7%), crustaceans including lobsters (4.3%), molasses (4.1%), bran and other residues (2.5%), moluscs (2.4%) then live bovine cattle (2.2%).

Products Generating Greatest Trade Surpluses for Belize

The following types of Belizean product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Sugar, sugar confectionery: US$100.8 million (Up by 17.5% since 2023)
2. Fruits, nuts: $42.9 million (Up by 31.0%)
3. Fish: $18.7 million (Down by -6.6%)
4. Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $4.9 million (Up by 80.9%)
5. Live animals: $4.5 million (Up by 59.8%)
6. Vegetables: $1.4 million (Down by -42.5%)
7. Vegetable plaiting materials: $30,000 (Reversing a -$24,000 deficit)

Historically, Belize has highly positive net exports in the international trade particularly for sugar and molasses. In turn, these cashflows indicate Belize’s strong competitive advantages under the sugar and sugar confectionery product category.

Products Causing Biggest Trade Deficits for Belize

Belize incurred an overall -US$1.2 billion product trade deficit for 2024, increasing by 7% from the -$1.1 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2023.

Below are exports from Belize that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Belize’s goods trail Belizean importer spending on foreign products.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: -US$189.4 million (Up by 7.3% since 2023)
2. Machinery including computers: -$159.5 million (Up by 17.1%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$100.8 million (Up by 28.7%)
4. Vehicles: -$87.2 million (Up by 15.9%)
5. Plastics, plastic articles: -$50.7 million (Up by 5.6%)
6. Articles of iron or steel: -$43.6 million (Up by 16.3%)
7. Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: -$40.7 million (Up by 7%)
8. Other chemical goods: -$36.3 million (Up by 8.2%)
9. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: -$35.7 million (Up by 0.7%)
10. Iron, steel: -$34.2 million (Down by -5%)

Belize has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits, notably for refined petroleum oils and petroleum gas under the mineral fuels including oil product category.

Belize’s Export Companies

Not one Belizean corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.

Wikipedia does list exports-related companies from Belize. Selected examples are shown below.

• Amandala (tabloid newspaper)
• Belize Bank (banking)
• Belize Telemedia Limited (mobile telecommunications)
• Great Belize Productions (broadcasting production)
• Love Belize Television (cable television)
• Maya Island Air (airliner)
• RSV Media Center (broadcaster including radio)
• Smartnet IBC Ltd (website communities for artists)
• Speednet Communications (telecommunications)
• Tropic Air (airliner)

 
In macroeconomic terms, Belize’s total exported goods represent 4.4% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($6.3 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 4.4% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 5.2% for 2023. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Belize’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Belize’s unemployment rate averaged 2.6% in 2024, down from an average 3.346% one year earlier in 2023 per International Monetary Fund’s statistics.

Belize’s capital city is Belmopan.

See also Costa Rica’s Top 10 Exports, Guatemala’s Top 10 Exports, United States Top 10 Exports and Top Central American Export Countries

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Central America: Belize. Accessed on October 6, 2025

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 6, 2025

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity)

. Accessed on October 6, 2025

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 6, 2025

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 6, 2025

Wikipedia, Belize. Accessed on October 6, 2025

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 6, 2025

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Belize. Accessed on October 6, 2025

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 6, 2025

Wikipedia, Latvia. Accessed on October 6, 2025