More focus to be placed on reviving Guyana’s coconut industry

The Agriculture Ministry said that more focus would be placed on the expansion of Guyana’s coconut industry, given the benefits that could be derived from increased exportation.
In this light, the ministry has embarked on establishing a National Oversight Committee for the industry which will see the involvement of participants from the private and public sectors.
This is according to Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, who was at the time speaking during a stakeholders’ conference on the coconut industry last Monday at the ministry’s boardroom.
He noted that he was also seeking to include representatives from the various commercial banks; the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED); the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations; and the Inter- American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), among others.
The minster advised that the oversight committee would meet at the beginning of every month. Further to this, a national report will be prepared every six months so that the areas of progress and shortcomings can be identified.
Dr Ramsammy pointed out that research will be one of the main focuses of the committee. He said it was in this light that the decision was taken to invite representatives from Brazil, India, and Mexico, to lend their support.

Formal coconut industry
The minister noted that Guyana has a formal coconut industry, which was developed, over the years, mainly by the country’s private sector. However, government must always play the role of a strong facilitator in this industry, he said.
Dr Ramsammy pointed out that presently there are more than 12 million hectares of land under coconut cultivation throughout the world, with nut production exceeding 65 million tonnes per year.  In this regard, marketing prospects for coconut and its products have never been better, both locally and internationally.
However, the minister admitted that much work still needs to be done to ensure the industry’s continued growth.  He recalled that several years ago during the global downturn, coconut products remained popular on the market, given its demand.
Coconut ranks third, after rice and sugar production in Guyana. This year, 80,000 hectares of land will be dedicated to rice production, 36,000 to sugar, and 24,000 to coconut production.
Dr Ramsammy noted that Guyana currently produces between 90 and 100 million coconuts per year – some 70,000 tonnes.
He stated that the world export market for coconut products is approximately US$ 6 billion, Guyana’s export revenue for coconut products is approximately US$ 3 million.
He said from 2009 to present, Guyana and the rest of the world have made significant progress in this regard.
“I want to ensure that it is not just growing coconut trees and producing raw materials, but to ensure that Guyana is more aggressive in value added products,” the minister explained.