— as CARIFORUM signs historic agreement with French group

WIDER market access, particularly to those countries within the European Union (EU), is anticipated for regionally-produced alcoholic products, with the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between CARIFORUM and French rum producers, CIRT-DOM.
According to a press statement, the two organisations, each representing a tradition of rum production that stretches back hundreds of years, have with this, their sixth accord, renewed their commitment to working together in the interest of building the rum category, based on authentic provenance, common rules and promoting a level playing field against increasing competition from products which benefit from production subsidies.
The West Indies Rum & Spirits Producers Association (WIRSPA), which signed on behalf of the CARIFORUM, is one of the oldest private sector trade associations in the Caribbean. It represents rum producers in Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Haiti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.

The French “Conseil Interprofessionnel du Rhum Traditionnel” (the Inter-professional Council for Traditional Rum) comprises the rum producers of Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Reunion. Chairman of WIRSPA, Komal Samaroo, said the Caribbean has a long history of collaboration with its French counterparts. In fact, it has been almost 25 years since the signing of the first agreement between the two organisations. “Together we face a sharp rise in non-traditional imports of rum into our traditional markets, especially the European Union and the UK. Many of these competing brands do not always follow the rules, and many benefit from extensive production and marketing subsidies which place us at a competitive disadvantage. These developments, coupled with the impact of Brexit and the new trade deals being pursued by the UK, underline the need for joint action,” he said. President of the French grouping CIRT-DOM, Alain Chatel, said: “We have worked with WIRSPA over several decades to promote rum rules that respect origin, and to urge compliance with the regulations which do not permit flavouring of rum, and labelling regulations that are truthful. “Both our groupings are traditional producers of authentic rum based on true provenance, and we have together worked to build the reputation of rum as a quality premium spirit, alongside the best of the best. We share a common philosophy,” he said.