Overall you will be surprised at the fresh produce that is available and more over at the quality that you will find in Belize, especially so being such a small country with only approximately 320,000 inhabitants of which about half live here in Belize City.
There are no chandlers available in Belize. It will therefore entail you either go shopping yourself, if so let us know when you would like to go shopping and we will arrange pickup. We can be contacted at ventura@btl.net or +501 610 3215. Other option would be for you to email us the list and we will pickup the items for you. —
You will however notice that the Belize government tries its best to support and promote locally grown produce, most of fairly good quality. The government does this by not permitting the importation of that said product which is locally produced. An example of these items would be potatoes, tomatoes and onions that would be smaller, yet fresher and tastier. Locally produced chocolate, honey and pepper sauce are of exceptional quality and very tasty. I have seen yachts purchase them by case when departing.
Belize City is the port where most yachts arrive. It is also the best place for you to do your shopping whilst in Belize. Outside of Belize City the next best place for shopping is San Pedro, though San Pedro is quite a bit more expensive than Belize City and very few mega yachts ever reach there due to draft restrictions. Each year Placencia has more and more to offer. Besides these places Punta Gorda and Caye Caulker offering very basic shopping. There is no shopping available to you at sea besides those ports mentioned. In reality though, for most yachts above 8 feet shopping would be in only Belize City or Placencia. San Pedro and Caye Caulker are only for yachts with a shallower draft of about 8 feet.
There are three supermarkets in Belize City, one supermarket in San Pedro and only basic stores in Caye Caulker and Placencia. Mind you not even our supermarkets come close in size to Win Dixie, but you will be amazed at how much American products you can purchase at the supermarkets. We note that the stores in Placencia are improving and as such a better variety of goods can be now be found in Placencia.
The majority of our goods are imported from the US and you will find most of the items you would need for your regular day-to-day cooking. There is also a fair amount English items available. Besides that we have a fairly large Chinese community. The Hindu community is not as large as the Chinese, and as such a wider range of Chinese and a more limited amount of Indian cooking products are available. Most of the imported fresh produce comes from the US once a weak. There is some other fresh produce brought in from Mexico.
Any day will do for supermarket shopping and Wednesdays for imported fresh produce. There is a very limited amount of fresh produce imported and it disappears quickly. Best days for local produce would be in the mornings on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
One of the first things many chefs ask about is fresh milk and yes locally produced regular fresh milk, 2% milk and skim milk is available. Locally produced fresh cream is also available, but needs to be special ordered preferable with two working days notice.
Where you will be most disappointed will be with the limited variety of cheese and cold cuts. Before there are only three types of lettuce sold, iceberg, leaf lettuce and romaine, but now there is a wider variety of local lettuces, though in limited quantities.
If you email us a list we can pick out your imported fresh produce on Wednesday should you not be around. Thereafter there is the option putting your goods back into storage with the fresh produce supplier. The only draw back here is that we only have access to the goods Monday to Friday during regular working hours. Other than that we can have the goods shipped via air freight to Dangriga, Placencia or Punta Gorda. If you are passing nearby then goods can be delivered to your tender or a chase boat can be hired to deliver your goods where you are.
What you will not find in Belize are any fancy or exotic stuff such as Valrhona Chocolate powder, white grape juice, frozen baguette (sometimes available), white asparagus, crystalised ginger, frozen cranberries (sometimes available), veal, and proscuttio, just to name a few to give you an idea. You will find whole ducks, but no duck breast or duck legs.
Certain yachts will want to have their goods imported. It will work out a bit expensive, but not a problem. When placing your order please ask your supplier to email us at ventura@btl.net with a copy of the invoice along with the airway bill. Your goods will be shipped with Amerijet, which departs Miami on Tuesdays, arriving in Belize City normally at night. We would clear out your shipment the following day, Wednesday and you can expect to receive delivery around 17:00 hours in Belize City.
CHEESE
Only a very small selection of cheese available and it is sold by the ounce and is very expensive. It is recommended you best stock up on cheese.
COLD CUTS
Again a very limited selection of cold cuts is available and yes it is also very expensive. Best you stock up on cold cuts and meats before coming.
FREE RANGE CHICKEN AND EGGS
Free-range chicken is available, though the meat is not as tender as the caged up chicken, but oh, a hell lot tastier than the regular chicken. Free-range eggs is also available, but hard to come by.
FRESH FISH
The fresh catch of fish is available Mondays through Saturdays. The best time is in the afternoons from 3:00 pm. The fish that is available here are not of any fancy names, but the chefs are normally satisfied. We cannot guarantee what fish you will be able to get on any day, what is available is the catch of the day.
FRESH PRODUCE
First thing Tuesday morning is the best day for purchasing fresh produce. Would highly recommend you have your list faxed in by early Monday morning as sometimes the shipment is ready for sale late Monday afternoons.
Items usually found would be
Apples:
- Granny Smiths
- Yellow Apples – sometimes, but not normally
- Red Apples
Artichoke – very rarely – no baby artichoke
Arugala – not available – sometimes in Placencia
Asparagus (green)
Avocados:
Local avacados are excellent but it has a short season
Berries:
Tricky subject, sometimes we can get strawberries, but it turns very quickly.
It is more difficult to find blue berries, and extremely rare to find raspberries.
Brocoli
Cabbage:
- Green Cabbage
- Red Cabbage
Carrots:
- Baby Carrots (most times)
- Regular Carrots – locally produced, a bit stubby and rough in texture
Cherries – very rarely
Corn on the cob – locally produced sweet & tender
Cucumbers:
Regular cucumbers no English cucumbers
Endives – not available
Grapes:
- Green Seedless grapes (sometimes)
- Red Seedless grapes
Ginger fresh – locally grown – excellent
Herbs:
Most times fresh basil – locally grown, very good, umm…. I can smell it.
- Chives – very rarely available
- Cilantro – in abundance – locally produced, goes quicly
- Dill – very rarely available
- Thyme – very rarely available
- Mint – ¬ locally produced – nice big leaves
- Rosemary – Almost never seen
- Tarragon – Almost never seen
Kiwis
Lettuce:
- Butter Lettuce – not available
- Green Leaf Lettuce – most times available
- Iceberg Lettuce
- Mesclum – not available
- Romaine Lettuce – excellent quality and always brought in.
Lemons – not normally available and if found they are expensive
Limes
Mangoes – can almost never be found – only for a short time of the year
Melons:
- Cantelopes
- Honey Dew Melons
- Watermelons
Mushrooms:
- White button mushrooms
- Portabello mushroom
- Shitake – not available.
Onions:
Red, white and yellow onions
Oranges – local and good – not polished or painted – sold each not by the case
Papaya
Parsley
Peaches – can get most times, but not always
Pears
Pineapples
Plums – sometimes, but not normally
Potatoe – grown locally – not as good as Idaho
Baby potatoes
Spinach (no baby spinach)
Strawberry – but it goes quickly
Sweet Bell Peppers:
- Green Bell Peppers
- Red Bell Peppers
- Yellow Bell Peppers
Tomatoes:
- Cherry Tomatoes (sometimes)
- Grape Tomatoes (sometimes)
- Regular Tomatoes
I won’t really go into detail on the tropical stuff.
FRESH MILK & DAIRY
Fresh milk such as regular, skim, and 2% milk are readily available. All fresh milk is locally produced and of a good quality. The date validity normally is 7 days and it is available only in half gallon or approximately 2 liters. No quarts or gallons available. Heavy Cream is local and also available, but not readily. In order to obtain heavy cream you would need to pre-order about 2 to 3 days in advance.
ORGANIC GOODS
The stores and supermarkets do not have an organic section, nor do they really carry a selection of organic items. You may find one or two items. The fresh produce grown locally is not labeled organic, but in most cases they are in fact organically grown.
MEATS
Most of the meats are local, except for lamb legs, which is usually imported from either Australia or New Zealand. Lamb racks are however almost never available. US tenderloin and US rib eye steak is not available. Suggest you stock up on meat before coming to Belize.
OPENING HOURS
Business hours for most business is
Monday to Friday
08:00 to 12:00
13:00 to 17:00
Closed on Saturdays – some are open half day
Supermarkets are normally open
Monday to Saturday – 08:00 to 21:00
Sundays – 08:00 to 14:00
Open air market shopping
AM is the best – commences from 06:00
GLUTEN FREE PRODCUTS
It is very limited the gluten free products which are availalbe.
PASTA
Imported pasta available.
PAYMENT
All the major supermarkets both in Belize City and San Pedro accept credit cards. On the other hand credit cards are NOT accepted by the fresh produce supplier, open air market, fish market and most other stores.
POULTRY
Poultry is locally produced and can get whole chickens, legs, breasts, boneless breasts, drumsticks etc. The local quality is good.
Bottom line is that I would recommend you stocking up in the US with cold cuts, meats and cheese.
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