VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBE #0314/01 2232022
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 112022Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BELMOPAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1982
RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICA COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BELMOPAN 000314 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN (JENNIFER VANTRUMP) 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ECON BEXP EAGR PGOV BH
SUBJECT: CITRUS GREENING THREATENS BELIZE'S CITRUS INDUSTRY 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  In May 2009, the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) 
confirmed the presence of citrus greening in Belize.  This disease 
represents a serious threat to an industry which significantly 
contributes to the Belizean economy in terms of foreign exchange 
earnings and employment in the rural southern communities.  The 
industry has sought to implement a wide range of responses to 
control the spread of the disease; however, it is constrained by 
internal conflicts among major industry representatives, a degree of 
reluctance by GOB authorities to regulate on behalf of the industry, 
and lack of adequate resources to implement certain measures. 
 
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Citrus Greening in Belize 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.  Citrus greening, also called Huanglongbing (HLB) or yellow 
dragon disease, is one of the more serious diseases affecting the 
citrus industry in the Western Hemisphere.  It is spread by the 
insect Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri.  This insect 
sucks fluids from infected plants, reproduces the citrus greening 
bacteria inside itself, and then propagates the organism to all 
trees on which it feeds.  The symptoms of citrus greening include 
yellowing of leaves, distorted fruit, bitter juice, and a greening 
of the fruit after it has ripened.  After contracting the disease, 
the health of a citrus plant diminishes to the point that, within 
five to eight years, the tree barely produces usable fruit.  There 
is no cure for citrus greening. 
 
¶3.  To date, the citrus industries in Brazil, Florida, and more 
recently in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, have been affected.  In 
the U.S., the disease was first detected in Southern Florida in 2005 
and has now spread through most of the Florida panhandle.  As a 
result, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has expanded its citrus 
greening quarantine zone to include the entire state of Florida. 
Florida growers have worked with BAHA and the Citrus Growers 
Association (CGA) to assist in their efforts to control the spread 
of this disease. 
 
¶4.  In Belize, a survey undertaken by relevant authorities resulted 
in a declaration in May 2009 by BAHA, confirming the presence of 
citrus greening.  While the disease has been detected country-wide, 
it is predominantly found in the southern district of Stann Creek, 
particularly the Hopkins area.  This concentration presents a 
serious threat to Belize's economy, as most commercial citrus farms 
are located in the southern districts. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Proposals to deal with citrus greening in Belize 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶5.  Education and testing: The CGA is undertaking initiatives to 
educate growers countrywide to recognize the symptoms of the 
disease.  In addition, CGA has recently purchased a PCR (polymerase 
chain reaction) machine to conduct testing of citrus plants in 
Belize; in anticipation of the machine's arrival, the CGA 
accumulated 957 samples for testing.  This machine commenced testing 
the week of July 20th.  The Association has also proposed that 
Belize provide other countries with regional testing services. 
 
¶6.  Managing nurseries: One of the issues of contention that has 
emerged is how to deal with contamination affecting citrus 
nurseries.  In June 2009, Organismo Internacional Regional de 
Sanidad Agropecuaria (OIRSA) wrote a short report on the situation 
in Belize, which expressed serious concerns that nurseries in 
Dangriga and Punta Gorda have been compromised.  The report informs 
that all the nurseries in these areas tested positive for the 
presence of the citrus greening psyllid, that none are screened, and 
that most lack adequate agronomic and phytosanitary management. 
 
¶7.  Internal politics in the industry has further complicated the 
response with respect to nurseries, since two of the largest citrus 
farms are also nursery growers.  Their nurseries are in the middle 
of infected areas, and they believe that any of the proposed 
responses to the disease would lead to a loss of revenue and 
investment in the short- to medium-term.  These same farms sustained 
serious damage in the 2008 floods, which has heightened fears of 
further revenue loss. 
 
¶8.  The recommendation from the Citrus Greening Committee, and the 
CGA, is to stop the sale of nursery stock until these nurseries have 
been tested for citrus greening.  Based on this recommendation, the 
GOB has recently implemented a two-month moratorium on the sale of 
nursery plants across the country. 
 
¶9.  Destroying infected trees: BAHA, along with industry 
representatives, has also informed growers that infected trees do 
not have a chance of survival.  Growers are being advised to destroy 
infected trees.  While there have been proposals that GOB intervene 
to require the mandatory elimination of infected trees countrywide, 
some commercial growers are resisting.  Many are concerned that such 
a requirement would cause a significant loss of investment to 
nurseries and commercial growers.  However, if infected trees are 
not removed from groves, the disease will spread, potentially 
leading to larger losses of revenue in the long-term. 
 
¶10.  Psyllid control: Another avenue being contemplated is psyllid 
control and screening.  Since 2005, CGA has tried biological control 
of psyllids.  This method involves reducing or mitigating pests and 
pest effects through the use of natural enemies.  Preliminary 
research has shown that there are biological controls in Belize, but 
these have not been fully identified or quantified.  CGA's research 
branch (CREI) is working with the Caribbean Agricultural Research & 
Development Institute (CARDI) to identify which biological control 
agents currently found in Belize are the most effective at helping 
to keep the populations of infected psyllids low.  This stronger 
biological agent would be complemented with the physical 
screening-in of nurseries to prevent psyllids from entering and 
infecting healthy plants.  To kill the psyllids and prevent further 
contamination, spraying of citrus groves and nurseries has been 
proposed. 
 
¶11.  Biological and nutritional methods:  Research is being done 
outside Belize, including in Florida, Mexico, and Brazil, on other 
measures to prevent the spread, and minimize the impact of citrus 
greening.  While no cure has been found for the disease, there has 
been some success in identifying a more resistant species of tree. 
For example, emerging research is seeking to engineer seemingly 
naturally-resistant trees in China, by inserting disease-resistant 
genes from spinach into citrus chromosomes.  Others are developing 
high-speed orchards, which produce trees that bear fruit earlier, 
before greening can kill them off, thus allowing growers to profit 
more from trees that are infected by the disease.  There is also 
some research to suggest that by adding nutritional supplements, 
such as Keyplex 1000, to citrus groves the immune system of trees is 
strengthened, prolonging their production life, even if infected. 
Many growers are hopeful that this research will produce viable 
results, as these methods seem to prove less costly than culling 
diseased trees or spraying. 
 
¶12.  Financing: In addition, CREI along with a Citrus Greening 
Committee has prepared a short-term work plan with a budget of 
approximately BZ$400,000 (US$200,000) to address the problem.  The 
matter of how the funding would be raised failed to be addressed at 
CGA's 41st Annual General Meeting in June 2009.  A Special CGA 
General Meeting is scheduled for September 2009 to deal specifically 
with the matter of citrus greening.  The CEO of the CGA has 
indicated that he will recommend an increase in growers' 
contributions to aid in its response to greening.  He will propose 
that contributions be increased by BZ$0.10 (five cents U.S.) per box 
of grapefruit and oranges. 
 
¶13.  Regional and international initiatives: Given the importance of 
the industry to the Belizean economy, industry representatives have 
also started to lobby the GOB for central government assistance and 
its support in lobbying regional and international organizations. 
 
¶14.  In response to concerns about the disease spreading north, 
Mexico has been working with the industry and has proposed the 
creation of a buffer zone in the northern districts of Belize.  The 
zone could be funded by Mexico's portion of OIRSA funding, in a 
one-time contribution of US$700,000; however, no agreement has yet 
been signed.  Unfortunately, even if this proposal is adopted and 
funded, most of the commercial citrus groves in Belize are located 
in the south of the country, so it remains to be seen if this will 
help to contain the disease within Belize, or if it will only 
prevent it from spreading to Mexico. 
 
¶15.  In addition, industry experts and researchers have visited 
Belize.  A technical assistance initiative is proceeding with 
Brazilian counterparts who have experience with citrus greening and 
has resulted in further research and technical exchanges.  However, 
there is little prospect that this initiative will translate to 
grants to implement an adequate response to the disease. 
 
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Comments 
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¶16.  Not only is the citrus industry a significant employer in the 
southern districts of Belize, but it also represents a major source 
of exports and foreign exchange earnings.  In 2009, revenues 
generated from the export of citrus juices amounted to BZ$89.7 
million and were surpassed only by those of petroleum exports.  The 
presence of the citrus greening disease presents a serious threat to 
the viability of this industry, and by extension, to the already 
weakened Belizean economy.  The disease comes at a time of global 
crisis, where the international price of citrus products has 
decreased to some of the lowest levels in ten years, while the costs 
of fertilizers and other farm inputs are skyrocketing. 
 
¶17.  Locally, the industry is seeking to rebound from damages caused 
by flooding in June 2008.  Also, Belize's industry is comprised of 
approximately five hundred smaller growers who make up about ninety 
percent of the industry.  These farmers would be especially 
threatened by the impact of citrus greening, since they would have 
tremendous difficulty in implementing measures to combat this 
disease. 
 
DIFFILY