1 month ago
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With less than one per cent of the poultry trade throughout CARICOM originating from companies in the region, players in the industry say non-tariff barriers are curtailing their efforts to do more business in the Caribbean.
Members of the Caribbean Poultry Association say it is easier for companies outside the region to sell their product within CARICOM than it is for regional companies to supply their own market. This is despite recent efforts of CARICOM governments to streamline the regulations for the movement of goods within the trading block.
“I have been involved in trade within the Caribbean basin for close to 40 years and one of the great challenges that I have experienced are the non-tariff barriers. They are extremely effective in delaying and frustrating imports,” said Michael Jones, director of sales and marketing at Jamaica Broilers Group Limited.
Jones said the SPS, or sanitary and phytosanitary measures, implemented to ensure the safety of food imports “have tremendous value, but they can also be used as a barrier for trade”.
He was speaking at the Caribbean Poultry Association’s eighth international technical symposium and exhibition in New Kingston on Wednesday.
Shaun Baugh, programme manager for agriculture and agro-industrial development at the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana, had earlier revealed that US$150 million worth of poultry is imported into the region, with less than US$1 million coming from CARICOM countries.
Baugh said 70 per cent of the poultry imported into CARICOM comes from the United States, followed by imports from Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the rest of the world.
However, Baugh said, CARICOM governments are committed to reducing the amount of food imports into the region by 25 per cent by 2030. They have established a special ministerial task force on food production and food security to drive and to guide the implementation of the targeted reduction in food imports.
“The aim is to transform the agri-food system into one that is resilient, provides attractive and sustainable investment to potential investors and guarantees regional food and nutrition security,” Baugh said.
The CARICOM Secretariat representative said the regional body was working with the Caribbean Private Sector Organisation to target the reduction in meat products valued at US$320 million, which includes poultry.
Commenting on the poultry imports, Jones said, over the past five years, Trinidad and Tobago imported on average US$130 million worth, followed by Suriname, US$97 million, and Jamaica, US$80 million. Some countries imported smaller amounts, such as Barbados, US$8.5 million; Guyana, US$4.9 million, and Belize, US$1.1 million.
Admitting that non-tariff barriers are a problem, Baugh said CARICOM was more advanced in addressing the SPS-related challenges ,because a trading animal and animal products policy had been approved in 2023.
He said the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency, another regional body, had completed a risk assessment for different poultry plants within the region.
However, while Jones acknowledged the work done by regional bodies, including the Council for Trade and Economic Development, better known as COTED, in approving nine poultry plants in the region, he said SPS systems, logistical barriers and trade restrictions remained a problem.
“The sad reality is, accessing Caribbean markets within the region at times is a lot harder than trading with extra-regional companies,” Jones said.
“This contradiction stems mainly from a mix of bureaucratic and policy-related challenges despite the framework of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, which is supposed to facilitate increased intra-regional trade.”
COTED promotes trade and economic development of CARICOM and oversees the operations of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.
Jones said the different countries in CARICOM had different food safety laws which they implement slightly differently, thus providing extreme challenges and delays for imports. He said, at times, “changes to these laws and requirements happened very suddenly and at extremely short notice”.
English (US) ·