CubaPLUS Magazine

Caribbean countries can become a niche market for food, even supplying North America, if the right investments are made, Guyana's President Dr. Irfaan Ali said. During a virtual conference of agri-food investors from the Caribbean, held this Tuesday, the Guyanese president added that the subregion, due to its location and its competitive advantages, has a great opportunity to position itself as a high-value specialized market, be it honey, spices, aquaculture, cocoa, coffee, barley, corn, soybeans, fresh fruits, and vegetables.

Regarding his country, he pointed out that it has enough land to produce barley that can satisfy all the regional demand and even export to North America. He later reported that Guyana recently started producing corn and soybeans, with the intention not only to meet domestic needs but also to feed the region as a whole by 2026.

In this regard, he mentioned that in order to achieve these objectives in terms of transportation and logistics in the region, it is necessary to have a better network for the movement of merchandise. It is important, he continued, to look at the opportunity that exists in the north of Brazil and redesign the food production system in which one can start using the potential that exists in that area and, in addition, use it as a transport channel, which can significantly save time and money, since the process of transporting food within the region of three weeks to 72 hours.

This can be achieved by investing in transportation and logistics with the appropriate technology and ideal facilities that allow products to be stored to reduce potential post-harvest losses, expand the market and focus on high-value crops, address sustainability and climate resilience, and involve more women in the agricultural sector, he said. Finally, he considered that the attractiveness of the Caribbean region is made up of its geographical location, the direction in which it is going, the type of incentives it offers, and "now we are also a region that produces a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, spices, natural juices, an emerging market that is going to have great potential for coconut water.
These are all tremendous opportunities.”