The scales are balanced heavily against local consumers when they purchase local fruit. A parcel of four oranges is available already packed in a highly knotted netted plastic bag. Maybe two of those oranges are scheduled to enter the compost heap within a day or two.
As for bananas, it is now difficult to know where to buy a kilogram or half a kilogram. It appears that farmers, perhaps to avoid theft, pick their bunches of bananas before they are fully matured. The bananas do not ripen as one expects. Some turn black while others are studded with black spots. The sensitive stomach rejects these soft parts which also enter the compost heap.
A consumer is tempted to purchase a box of seaside grapes without testing them. He discovers that the grapes are dry due to the drought and there is hardly any semblance of seaside grape flavour.
On the other side of the scale, the vendor has to be paid in the legal tender and is fully protected. Every penny of the payment has to be legal tender.
The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) now offers some assistance to consumers.
In keeping with its mandate to develop national standards, the GNBS has formulated a number of standards for the fresh fruit and vegetable sector in order to improve the quality of products available tor local consumption as well as exportation. These include the specifications for grades of banana, pineapple, watermelon, cassava, eddoes, plantains and hot peppers. These standards have been harmonized with international standards, mainly codex standards, to facilitate the acceptance of Guyana’s products in international markets.
The GNBS has formulated three more standards which will further enhance the operations in this sector. These are:
1. Code of practice for the packaging of fresh fruits and vegetables. This code of practice specifies hygienic practices for the production and packaging of fresh fruits and vegetables. It addresses microbial, physical and chemical hazards, as these relate to good agricultural and manufacturing practices.
2. Guidelines for the production, processing, labelling and marketing of organically produced foods. The guidelines set out the principles of organic production at farms, preparation, transport, labelling and marketing stages, and provide an indication of accepted permissible inputs for soil fertilizing and conditioning, plant pest and disease control, food additives and processing aids.
3. Guidelines for good management practices for micro and small enterprises. The guidelines in this standard set out the principles for implementing a Quality Management System, Environmental Management System and an Occupational Health and Safety Management System in all small enterprises, including the fresh fruit and vegetable sector.
When farmers utilize available standards there will be a further increase in demand for local fruits and vegetables on the international market, which will require expansion in their level of production, hence a significant increase in revenue.
Further it is compulsory that Guyana as an exporting country of fresh fruits and vegetables comply with the international quality and safety standards promulgated by international standards institutions under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary measures (SPS).