Guyana is one of 22 countries that are set to benefit from over US$255,000 in financial aid that the Carib-bean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) has awarded to Cariforum agro-processing firms as part of the Regional Private Sector Development Programme (RPSDP) funded by the European Union under the 10th European Develop-ment Fund (EDF).
“It is of paramount importance that food producers are able to compete on a global scale. This can only be achieved through
meeting the stringent regulatory or certification needs for international food safety. The allocation of these funds will help these businesses in the first instance to get them export ready or be able to increase their exports to new markets. This is the boost that the sector in the region needs,” said Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the agency.
According to a press release from Caribbean Export, the Agro-processing sector within the Caribbean is relatively fragmented and underdeveloped, comprising mainly of small and medium sized enterprises involved in the processing of traditional agricultural products for domestic use and export. Food safety requirements number among the competitive constraints that currently hinder the expansion of the sector.
“On May 28, 2014 the Agency released a Special Call for Proposals – Food Safety for Cariforum agro-processing firms, specifically to address the issue of exporters and producers not meeting certain food safety requirements for the EU market,” the press release said. International-ly, exporters are obligated to comply with the food safety requirements of the desired export markets.
Of the 55 applicants, 22 companies have been awarded a grant to a maximum value of 10,000 Euros. The successful applicants were from Bar-bados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. A full list of beneficiaries can be found at www.carib-export.com. It is anticipated that the beneficiaries wishing to export to the European Union market will utilise the funds to develop in a manner that ensures food production under standard quality control conditions that meet the sanitary and regulatory requirements of the EU marketplace such as HACCP, GAPs, GlobalGAP, ISO 14000, , BRC, QF 1000 and Primus GFS.
