–intervention by gov’t to secure cheaper loans for poultry farmers could help slash CARICOM’s US$149M poultry import bill
–CARICOM heads must now address non-tariff barriers, regional private sector body says
FOLLOWING the implementation of a series of measures to assist poultry farmers and boost local production, Guyana is now better positioned to potentially be a net exporter of poultry meat to the Caribbean market, according to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Private Sector Organization (CPSO).

In a press statement on Monday, the regional private sector body said that Guyana will also be able to address the region’s US$149.0 million poultry-import bill.
Over the weekend, the Guyanese Head of State Dr. Irfaan Ali, who holds responsibility for Agriculture and Agricultural Development in CARICOM, announced that reduced interest rates on bank loans will become available to poultry farmers across the country.

In addition to this, the government will be looking to set aside more land for the cultivation of rice and other grains to produce its own feed for livestock.
According to the CPSO, poultry meat is among the 19 agri-food opportunities highlighted in the region’s 25 by 25 goals for extra-regional import displacement, and the measures outlined by Dr. Ali will properly address the critical issues of the “cost of finance” and the “cost of feed,” which have been two major concerns of farmers and processors in Guyana and across the Community.

“The announcement by President Ali of interest-rate reductions to poultry farmers and expansion in crop production as an adjunct to poultry feed, positions Guyana and other CARICOM producers to potentially become “net exporters” of poultry meat to CARICOM markets within the construct of a harmonized CARICOM single market for poultry meat,” the CPSO reiterated.

Meanwhile, the CPSO said that CARICOM heads now have to examine the most critical policy shift, which is the establishment of a genuine single, regional market for poultry meat, which will provide equal market access by all poultry meat producers in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) markets.

According to the CPSO, the removal of the remaining non-tariff barriers must now be addressed.
“Relative comparisons of the market access for poultry meat imports into CARICOM Member States demonstrate wide variations in the Common External Tariff (CET) and market access. According to the CPSO’s work, such variations in the import market access among Member States, highlight the scope for the possible introduction of a CARICOM-wide Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) regime, underpinned by a harmonized CET, the removal of remaining Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), adherence to the CARICOM Poultry Standard and a CARICOM Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary (SPS) regime,” CPSO said.

The respective government heads, the CPSO suggested, could introduce a TRQ regime for poultry meat, intra-regional imports could substantially displace imports from extra-regional sources.
The CPSO added that the initiatives announced for Guyana can also spur closer collaboration and “scaling up” among the regional poultry industry, particularly, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, among others.

In February, CARICOM’s Ministerial Taskforce (MTF) on Food Production and Food Security announced that it has collectively achieved 57 per cent of its “Vision 25 by 2025” target.
It was reported that products such as cocoa, dairy, meat, root crops, fruits, and poultry have already reached 96.13%, 84.36%, 72.28%, 70.91%, 70.77%, and 70.19%, respectively, for the targeted production volume set for the year 2025.

Moreover, countries such as Guyana, Belize Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Dominica, and Jamaica have made significant advances in the production of commodities such as ginger, turmeric, corn, soya bean, root crops, fruits, cocoa, poultry, meat, fish, table eggs, and dairy.
In October, CARICOM heads are expected to meet once again for the second Agri-Investment forum and ‘expo’ to be held here in Georgetown.

Guyana’s Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, who chairs the special ministerial task force for food production and food security in CARICOM, previously shared that this year’s forum will see officials engaging investors and key stakeholders within the agricultural sector to secure funding for a new project proposal titled, “Building Food Security through Innovation, Resilience, Sustainability and Empowerment, curated by Dr. Ali.