NEW Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) yesterday commissioned a $4.9M refrigerated truck that will be put at the disposal of farmers and exporters of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud commissions the refrigerated truck. Mr. Boyer at left looks on

The commissioning follows its Wednesday inauguration of the Agriculture Marketing and Information Service (AMIS), an initiative which advertises the prices of various commodities on Digicel cellular phones.

Briefing the media, at the NGMC Central Packaging Facility at the National Exhibition Centre Compound, Sophia, Georgetown, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud said the vehicle will service small scale farmers and exporters who cannot afford their own cold storage.

He said the facility will be offered at a minimum cost to cover operation and maintenance expenses but will be heavily subsidised.

Persaud said he is hopeful that, in the long term, movement of produce, from farms to packaging, storage and processing facilities to exportation point, will, eventually, be taken over by private entrepreneurs.

“Given the increased exports, the demands of our packaging facility – much more demand for our production – certainly, we see that this was a gap and it is part of our effort to be responsive to the need,” he said.

Persaud said, currently, there is no cold storage capacity at any of the packaging plants but he hinted that the concern would be addressed by the end of the third quarter this year.

He said the truck is a small start to bigger plans and he expects the provision will boost the activities of farmers, exporters and other stakeholders as Government improves and expands the non-traditional crops sector.

“We are not a rich country. We are a developing country and we have to live within our means and this facility, small and modest as it is, is a demonstration of us trying to fix a problem, but fixing it within our means and within our affordability,” Persaud declared.

GMC General Manager, Mr. Nizam Hassan said the facility, though simple, is significant and will play an important role in reducing spoilage and extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables.

He said the vehicle will be available, immediately, to farmers but mostly exporters and a system for its use has already been worked out.

Supplier of the truck, Mr. Eddie Boyer said it was purchased from JAC, one of the largest automobile manufacturing companies in the People’s Republic of China.