The beleaguered catfish industry worth an estimated $1.8 billion may soon get a new lease on life if, as the Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha hopes, the government is successful in having the ban on exports to the US removed.
A release from the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday reported that the comment was part of the remarks made by the minister during a tour of the Pritipaul Singh Investments Inc’s Fish and Tuna Processing Facility. It stated that the government’s intention was to move “swiftly” to restore life to the productive sectors, including the fisheries sector and one of its measures was to “significantly” re-duce the cost of production.
“Over the last five years, almost all the areas that make up the agriculture sector have declined tremendously. We’ve seen some amount of deterioration in the productive sector due to gross neglect and mismanagement at all levels. When we came into office we basically had to start all over again because if you cannot produce, you cannot generate wealth. This is why, with this emergency budget, we’ve reversed things like land rental rates, drainage and irrigation charges and removed VAT from agriculture inputs to their 2014 to early 2015 costs,” the minister said.
According to the release, with the ban on the export of the catfish species to the United States of America still affecting fishermen across the country, Mustapha said that he remains optimistic that Government will soon have the measure lifted.
The Agriculture Minister said that when the US Secretary of State came to Guyana, he and President Irfaan Ali were able to engage him on it.
“Since then, we’ve been having constant meetings with US officials to address the issue. There is another meeting scheduled for next week and I am very optimistic that we will soon have this ban lifted. That is a $1.8 billion industry and we have to work to ensure we regain that market,” he was quoted as saying.
Mustapha noted that with over 15,000 people directly involved in the fisheries sector, companies like Pritipaul Singh Investments (PSI) Inc play a major role in ensuring small-scale fishermen also have an income. He reassured of Government’s commitment to supporting companies like PSI Inc to secure new markets so that they can continue to ensure markets for small fishermen.
PSI Inc supports the local fisheries sector by purchasing the catch of small scale fishermen across the country.
“The Ministry of Agriculture, through the Fisheries Department, will do our best to promote you within the fisher-folk community so that the small men can have a ready and stable market for their produce. I am also very impressed with your processing operation. This is a model operation and with the contribution that it’s making in terms of creating employment for people, rest assured that Government will continue to support you. With the investment you are making, this will have a direct impact on the economy. As a Government we recognize the contribution of the Fisheries sector, that is why we immediately put measures in place so that the harsh systems implemented by the previous administration can be reversed and the productive sectors can ultimately reduce their cost of production. With these measures, businesses can now have more resources to expand their operations and improve the welfare of their employees,” Mustapha declared.
Proprietor of PSI, Pritipaul Singh, expressed his satisfaction with the steps the government has taken to bring some amount of relief to persons looking to invest and expand their operations.
“In 2014-2015, licenses were GY$36,000 per boat. Now its GY$500,000 and that’s a huge jump. The effects of global warming have, over the years, had a tremendous effect on the fisheries sector. My production for the last two years has decreased by 50% but our input costs remain the same. With all these challenges we are facing it’s been very hard to survive. All the materials used during my daily operations were VAT inclusive. This is why I was pleased with the decision taken by Government to remove the VAT from agriculture-related materials,” Singh explained.
He added, that with the measures put in place now, the added incentives his company stands to receive will result in added incentive for his workers in the form of increased wages and salaries, the release added.
