‘Guyanese Flavour Uncapped’ launched… Event critical in addressing region’s US$4B food import bill – Business Minister

Jul 20, 2017 News, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....l-business-minister/

An Agro Processors Exhibition dubbed ‘Guyanese Flavour Uncapped”, was launched at the Sophia Exhibition Centre yesterday.
The event will be held from October 27 to October 29, 2017 and will also entail a Market and Food Festival.

Yesterday’s launch commenced at 14:00hrs and saw the Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin, as well as several heads of private sector entities attending, including the President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GSMA), Shyam Nokta; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED), Ramesh Persaud; Vice-President of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Desmond Sears; and President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Deodat Indar.

Attending, also, were several representatives of local private companies.

The venue for the grand event will be announced at a later date.

The overall objective of the affair is to allow local agro-processors to showcase these products, and to seek additional regional and international markets.

The Minister said, “The event will not just be a business event or just an agro-event but also, a food security initiative.”

The Minister said that it will feature “Guyanese foods from Guyanese farms”.

“This is how we intend to build our capacity to feed ourselves and to feed others, to make agriculture and agro-processing an important part of our national economy and our national security in a way that is sustainable.”
Reducing food import bill

The Minister also commented on reducing nation’s food import bill. “Our economy simply cannot sustain an appetite for foreign food. We’re pressuring ourselves unnecessarily by importing foods that we can very well be producing. It is going to affect the quality of our lives and those of our children if we don’t start making smart choices about the foods that we consume,” the Minister said.

He sought to make it clear that he is not suggesting that Guyanese should not be importing food at all but rather, that Guyanese produce “more of what we consume and consume more of what we produce.”

The Minister, speaking from a health perspective, said, “Our bodies cannot thrive on other people’s left-over; we cannot build a healthy nation on the kinds of foods and beverages that we are importing.”

“Ultimately, I think we all want to support our local producers. Our local food has value, it has nutrients, and it has flavor. This is what we want to uncap at Agro-processors exhibition, Market and Food Festival.”

He said that the event should also be used as a forum for sharing information about market requirements with producers and bringing them into contact with businesses and consumers who may be interested in their products.

This is a collaborative event being led by the Private Sector with strong support from the government.

“The Ministry of Business recognizes the importance of business-support organizations such as the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association and we are giving our commitment to working with these associations to help develop local industries.”

GMSA’s President, Nokta, said that the GMSA is pleased to collaborate with the Ministry of Business, IPED and Sterling Products Limited, to take a leading role in preparing for the event.

The GMSA’s President took the opportunity to speak a little on food and agro-products within the Caribbean region – which is a net-importer of food – spending in excess of US$4B every year, which he said is an increase of 50 percent since the year 2000.

“We are going to double the amount of spending on food in the region by 2020,” Nokta noted.

This scenario, he said, provides an opportunity for countries like Guyana, a producer of food and agro-products and agro-businesses to step up to the plate.

He spoke about the reality where several imported items found in supermarkets, can be produced here. “This often begs the question(s), ‘Are we showcasing? Are we marketing what we produce sufficiently and is there enough support being provided to local products?’”

Nokta stressed that agro-processing has been around as long as agriculture in Guyana and it continues to play a critical role in the livelihood and well-being of a large section of the Guyanese population – both on the coast and in the hinterland.

He went on to say that while many businesses have access to regional markets, most of their products are unknown in the domestic market place. It is against this backdrop, that the GMSA came up with this initiative, he explained.

A good move in the right direction.