The noteworthy strides which Guyana’s agro processing sector continues to make, largely through the diligence and creativity of a clutch of mostly micro and small businesses – and which can benefit incrementally from a more generous measure of state support – was again manifested recently with the disclosure that the local Only Coconuts brand of agro produce was named among other brands from the Caribbean that ‘turned heads’ at the October 15-19 SIAL Paris 2022 Product Display event at Paris Nord Villepinte in France.
The citation will be particularly pleasing to a wider local agro processing sector which, over the years, has incrementally attracted plaudits locally, regionally and international for its creative use of farm produce in its manufacturing pursuits catching the eyes and tantalizing the taste buds of a broad swathe of consumers, both in Guyana and abroad.
Owned by the local company Precision Global Inc. The manufacturing operations of Only Coconuts are located at Swan Creek, Marudi on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway.
The first batch of Only Coconuts which include Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO), Coconut Flour, Desiccated Coconut, and Coconut Chips was produced just over a year ago and in May this year the company secured Made In Guyana certification from the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), a registered mark that seeks to provide recognition to locally manufactured products on the local and international markets. The GNBS has referred to the ‘Only Coconuts’ brand as a “signature of quality for authentic Guyanese Products.”
Paradoxically, while brands like the Only Coconuts are incrementally finding their way on markets that go beyond Guyana, government, over the years, has failed to provide the agro processing sector with the level of support that can help to secure even greater plaudits – and perhaps, more importantly – expanded local regional and international markets.
Government’s recent turning down of a request to provide support for Guyanese agro-processors seeking to participate at this year’s Florida International Trade and Cultural Expo, previously reported on in this newspaper is a microcosm of what has been a wider indifference by political administrations, over the years, to providing support for the agro processing sector, notably in the area of providing infrastructure, including state of the art manufacturing facilities that can make both qualitative and quantitative differences to the country’s agro-processing sector.
This newspaper has frequently pointed to, among other things, the protracted failure by government, up to this time, to carry through with promises to create modern, adequately equipped that will allow potential investors to take advantage of conditions, not least the availability of raw materials in regions across the country, to invest in agro processing ventures.
SIAL is, reportedly the world’s biggest biannual trade fair, attracting 310,000 visitors from 200 countries.
