Export of non-traditional crops tops Gy$1B in 2012

TIMES INT'L

This year has seen a 1.2 per cent increase in volumes of non-traditional agriculture exports in comparison with figures from 2011.
Guyana has recorded Gy$1,313,000,000 in exports of fruits, vegetables and agro-processed products for the past year.
A comparison report by the Agriculture Ministry for the period January to November revealed that exports for 2012 totalled 10,832 tonnes, compared to 10,705 tonnes in 2011.
The Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) between July to August 2012, carried out market identification visits in various Caribbean countries.
Important marketing information was obtained from countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda and St Lucia.
Guyana Times International was told that the focus was on pepper, pumpkin, pineapple and plantains.
It was revealed that among the four markers, pepper and plantain are the most attractive with Barbados and Trinidad offering the highest prices for these produce.
Pumpkin is said to be attractive in both Barbados and Antigua, while pineapple is attractive in Trinidad and St Lucia.
The GMC reports that based on these findings, Guyana is competitive in the export of pineapples to Trinidad and St Lucia.
Further, the export of pumpkin, plantain and pepper, all have proven to be uncompetitive when compared to the prevailing prices of these commodities in Trinidad, Barbados, Antigua and St Lucia.
The high level of uncompetitiveness of these commodities can be attributed to the distance of the export destination from Guyana, high production and transportation costs and/or relatively low prevailing prices in the export destinations.

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