Five Guyanese agro processors will get an opportunity to showcase their products on the international stage at the May 8 – 14 SIAL 11 Agricultural Trade Show in Toronto Canada. The five local manufacturing entities, all small or medium-sized enterprises located in rural communities are Jet’s Enterprises, Tandy’s Manufacturing Enterprises, Original Juice, Prestige Manufacturing and Bottling Enterprise, and the Kuru Kururu Farmers, Crops and Livestock Association. Each of the five firms has been involved in the preserving, processing and bottling fruits, vegetables and other agricultural by-products for some years and according to the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GMSA) their exposure to the international event could open new doors to the Canadian and US markets for Guyana’s agricultural sector.
Jet’s Enterprises
Owned by Jethro Warner, Jet’s Enterprises has been in the business of manufacturing noni juice, a fruit-based health tonic for the past eleven years. Apart from its widespread availability in local supermarkets and other outlets noni juice is also in demand among Guyanese and West Indians in the Diaspora. Noni (Marinda Citrifolia) fruit juice is among the various bottled juices and concentrates which Warner will display in Canada. Locally, Jet’s Noni Juice is associated with treatment for a number of aliments including athlete’s foot, constipation, gingivitis and colds. Jet’s will also be taking other concentrates manufactured from local fruit and barks including tamarind, ginger, cherry, capadulla and mauby bark to the agricultural show.
Tandy’s
One of the better-known local agro-processing enterprises, Tandy’s will be displaying its popular peanut butter and its range of jams and jellies made from pineapple, guava, cherry and mango along with its food seasonings. The company will also unveil a new range of products made from watermelon and passion fruit. The Tandy’s brand grew out of a 1970s peanut butter experiment utilizing peanuts grown in the North West District. The experiment by Burt Denny and his wife Vilma yielded the company’s now popular nut butter. First tested on the local market in 1988, Tandy’s Peanut Butter was an instant success though the decline in local peanut production in the 1990s saw the company also slip into decline. It was this that led to its diversification into production of jams, jellies and preserved fruit with carambola (five-finger) as the base ingredient.
Apart from its success on the local market Tandy’s has also made inroads into the regional and international markets. Stabroek Business has learnt that the company has unveiled new, locally produced packaging for its products that will be on show in Canada designed to meet international standards.
Original Juices
Original Juices is owned by Nateram Ramnanan (Juiceman) of Grant Berthrum, Upper Pomeroon. The company has been juicing pineapples, cherries, oranges, guava and other seasonal fruits for more than six years. Its markets include food shops, small and large retailers and supermarkets mainly in the Essequibo region and West Demerara.
The company is also known for its achars, pepper sauces and other food seasonings which have gradually secured niches in markets in Georgetown and Berbice. Recently, juiced pumpkin and coconut water have been added to the company’s line of products.
The company’s knowledge of fruit processing derives largely from its links with Amerindian communities, and through its own experimentation. Ramnanan has also attended training courses sponsored by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the IICA.
The Kuru Kururu Farmers Crops and Livestock Association
The association will be represented in Canada by Valarie Kennedy who will display pure honey harvested from the seventeen apiaries owned by the association. Stabroek Business has learnt that the Farmers Association is in the process of acquiring additional hives to increase production and, eventually, to manufacture beeswax and other value-added products. Kennedy says that the association’s participation in the Canadian trade fair is intended to gain international recognition for their untouched honey and penetrate the North American market.
While honey is its most sought after product, the association is also cultivating large quantities of eddoe and is contemplating several processing options including the exp[ort of the tuber in the form of frozen cubes. Two of the association’s representatives are to travel to Trinidad and Tobago shortly to participate in an instructional programme aimed at teaching methods of making soup packs from indigenous ingredients.
Prestige Manufacturing and Bottling Enterprise
Owned by the Prashad family of Enterprise, West Bank Demerara, Prestige commenced the manufacture of its hot sauces, Chinese sauce, cassareep, chutney and green seasoning in 1988. Prior to then the company’s brand had already become familiar on the local market for almond, pear and pine essences. For some 23 years Prestige has been the favourite brand among bakers.
Stabroek Business understands that the participation of the five local agro processors in the Toronto event is a spinoff of continued collaboration between the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and the Trade Facilitation Office (TFO) of Canada designed to expand access to the Canadian market to Guyana’s producers. Funding for projects associated with the pursuit of this goal is provided by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
In announcing the participation of the five local enterprises in SIAL 11, GMSA says that it has, for several years, “been the catalyst for the infrastructural development, process line improvement and marketability of hundreds of small and medium sized enterprises [SMEs] in Guyana,” adding that it “represents the interests of SMEs involved in manufacturing and services and has overseen the entry of Guyanese products into the international marketplace across the Caribbean, into North America and Europe.” GMSA Chairman Clem Duncan said that the association intends to place its credibility behind the promise to continue to work with small and medium-sized manufacturing entities to overcome institutional barriers and enhance their technical growth.
Packaging/labelling workshops
The five companies whose products will be on display in Canada were selected following evaluations of their respective operations that included in-plant visits by GMSA’s technical representatives and international consultants.
In April last year the GMSA hosted the first Export Packaging Workshop for agro-based exporters and manufacturers of primary and secondary products. The workshop focused on regulations and standards for materials for export packaging, printing labels, packaging equipment, testing and quality assurance. Training facilitated by two local consultants, Ronald Noble and Arnold De Mendonca, continued in September 2010.
