A BARBADIAN entrepreneur, Mr. Jeffrey Batson, who visited for GuyExpo 2012, said he has had a very productive experience exploring opportunities to import fresh produce, particularly watermelons, pineapples and bananas, to his native island.

He said he did not know there are different types of bananas in Guyana but learnt about the Cayenne, sweet fig and apple varieties, which he said are all unheard of in Barbados.
“We’re only accustomed to the regular banana that is served and consumed by most tourists and Barbadians alike,” Batson confessed.
He said he is very excited at the prospect of having the variety available in Barbados, as he believes both tourists and Barbadian natives will enjoy them.
Batson, who said he has been a consultant in the hospitality business for the last twenty years, said he was here because he found a niche.
Having seen Guyana as an extension of the Caribbean, he also said he sees an opportunity for a place with the size and vast resources that has wonderful and hard working people who can produce exports to an island where the main source of revenue is tourism.
“I think it’s an excellent opportunity for Guyana. I think the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) is doing an excellent job in ensuring that the products are of quality and that the standards for exportation are met,” Batson said.
In addition to visiting the trade fair and exposition, he said he also had a chance to attend some of the forums that were convened, in particular the Business Forum, where he was able to connect with  executives and members of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).

DISCUSS IDEAS
Batson said the event provided the overseas entrepreneurs, business organisations and Private Sector the occasion to meet other stakeholders to discuss ideas.
He was also able to make contact with some of the farmers he is likely to involve in business transactions and they visited him at the house where he was staying and took fresh bananas, which he was allowed to sample.
Batson plans to purchase significant amounts of pineapple, watermelon and oranges for hotels in Barbados.
He and the President of the Canada/Caribbean Business Council, Mr. Bali Singh, together with consultant Ms. Sandra Baptiste, toured BM Enterprise seafood facilities at East Bank Demerara and said, on his next visit, he would be examining the possibility of exporting shrimp to Barbados for the hotels.
Batson said he had a very productive meeting with Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and General Manager of GMC, Mr. Nizam Hassan about the logistics of moving produce to Barbados, standards and quality control.
Batson was invited to attend GuyExpo by Sandra Baptiste and this is the first time he has attended and it certainly would not be the last.
He lauded the organisation of the event as outstanding and praised Baptiste’s input, noting that all the events were well supported, mainly arranged meetings with suppliers, where the presentations and the speakers were all well organised in terms of putting over the information, whether it be a new product or a vision for Guyana and the rest of the Caribbean.

NOTIFIED FARMERS
Batson is already making plans for the importation of the fresh produce and notified farmers of the quantities he requires and those quantities have also been related to the Ministry of Agriculture and regional airline LIAT, which will be instrumental in moving them from Guyana.
He said among the persons he was able to meet was  LIAT`s Cargo Director, Mr. Wilbur Edwards, who flew in from Antigua and Barbuda for the Business Forum to discuss arrangements for shipping fresh produce to Barbados and other Caribbean islands.
Batson announced that he is returning to Guyana in about three weeks to actually go into the farms and meet some of the planters to discuss arrangements for packaging.
He said he is very upbeat about doing business with Guyana and has been assured by Minister Ramsammy that Guyana can meet the standards and criteria set for exporting to Barbados.