Limited air cargo service crimping Guyana’s fruit and vegetable market
Challenges related to airlift capacity will continue to hinder Guyana’s ability to take advantage of lucrative regional markets for fruits and vegetables in the wake of the loss of the Amerijet service which has set aside the Barbados leg of its route.
And while the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) says that it is currently engaging alternative service providers with a view to ‘picking up the slack’ arising out of this development, this newspaper understands that it could find it difficult, at least in the short term, to adequately fill the gap that has been created. While cargo shipments are also provided by Caribbean Airlines and Fly Jamaica these are insufficient to fill the gap that has been created since priority in terms of cargo is usually given to passenger luggage, a release from GMC has stated.
The disclosure by the GMC underlines the sustained difficulties associated with the movement of both passengers in and out of Guyana and in this instance graphically illustrates how the limitation continues to retard the country’s export capability and by extension its economic growth.
In the release the GMC says that it “continues to engage with other service providers to expand the availability of transportation service for agricultural commodities” though it does not name those “other service providers” with whom it is engaged.
Meanwhile the GMC says that the imminent operationalizing of its solar drying facility at its Parika Pack House will significantly enhance its ability to support export capabilities. The entity is urging farmers already possessing or seeking export markets to take further advantage of the ability of its two Pack Houses at Parika and Sophia to help render their agricultural produce ready for acceptance of the export market.
The export readiness of locally produced fruits and vegetables involves cleaning, peeling and blast freezing, essentially better positioning the produce to meet the standards set by importing countries. The GMC release also quotes the Corporation’s General Manager Ida Sealey-Adams as saying that while there has been “a noticeable increase in the utilization of the Packaging Facilities to process agricultural commodities for export, more processing can be done at these facilities.” Stabroek Business understands that around a dozen exporters utilize the Corporation’s packaging facilities at this time.
Meanwhile, seasonal unfavourable weather continues to impact negatively on the ability of local businesses to increase the volume of their fruit and vegetable exports to the region. Stabroek Business understands that the MayJune rainy period which, not infrequently, extends into later months, impacts significantly on farming output in Region Six and the Pomeroon, often impairing farmers’ ability to meet export targets. The GMC explained in its release, however, that a number of local farmers dedicate their produce specifically to satisfying targeted overseas markets so that export volumes do not impact on availability and prices on the local market. The GMC’s release lists watermelons, plantains, seedless limes, pumpkins and dried coconuts as currently experiencing “a growing export demand.”