But while the nation still struggles to address crime, there is some good news coming out of Belmopan as it relates to Belize's economy. The Statistical Institute of Belize in a press release issued yesterday, is reporting that the economy recovered with 3.5 percent growth in the first quarter of 2010.
This welcome and encouraging performance says the release restores the country's level of economic activity to where it was in the first half of last year. A 21.2 percent increase in crude oil production was singled out as one of the main drivers of the increased economic activity.
The troubled tourism industry rebounded strongly showing a 9.3 percent rise in the hotels and restaurants sector, a significant turnaround from the 11.1 percent decline experienced in the same period in 2009.
The agriculture sector also showed signs of growth attributed to increases in citrus and banana production. However, the sugar cane industry registered a decline of 12.6 percent brought on by delays in the commissioning of the Belcogen power plant.
According to the Statistical Institute the only other sector to record a decline was the fishing industry, which fell by 25 percent, the lowest level since the last quarter of 2008.
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