Charles Jr rocks the boat again
Announces plans to promote competition, food security in local poultry industry
MINISTER OF Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr on Tuesday served notice of the Government’s intention to shake up the local poultry industry by offering incentives to get more people to invest in the processing of local chicken meat.
Delivering the keynote address on the first day of the Food Safety and Security Summit held earlier this week at the Medallion Hall Hotel, St Andrew, under the theme ‘Global Impact on Food Security – Caribbean Resilience’, Charles Jr promoted the idea as one of the measures that his ministry is pursuing to achieve food security. This, he said, had taken on greater urgency in light of the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine which has disrupted global supply chains.
“You would have seen across the news media, all of the discussions around food security and many people don’t even understand what food security really is. They think food security means, do you have enough food? And it’s much more than that. It talks to availability, affordability – meaning can you access the food even if you have it? It talks to the safety of the food. Is it nutritious? And are you getting it on a consistent basis?
“And rightly so, there is a need for us to have an intense focus on this matter which garnered momentum, and given the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, mixed with the conflict you have in Europe, mixed with the change issues, which are continuing, this is a critical concern. And so this period that we have is one of great challenge, which I would like to see as an enormous opportunity,” he declared.
The minister pointed out that bringing more competition to the industry would result in greater benefits for consumers, as well as stakeholders.
He explained: “Fostering competition i n various areas of agriculture, for example, the poultry sector, through seeking to incentivise investment in local processing facilities for new entrants. Why are we doing that?
“Competition is good for everybody, particularly the consumer (who) benefits if you have competition, but also those in the market benefit because they are driven to do better. They are driven to do more, they are always kept on their toes and the worse thing to have, or to be when you are in business, is to be comfortable and we don’t want anybody to be comfortable.”
A CHEAP SOURCE
In January, Charles had announced his intention to seek a suspension of the Common External Tariff (CET) and other stamp duties on i mported chicken leg quarters in a bid to provide a cheaper source of protein for consumers. The move was met with objection from the country’s two large-scale chicken meat processors: Jamaica Broilers and Caribbean Broilers. This announcement is likely to further ruffle the feathers of the two major poultry producers.
In his maiden address to the House of Representatives as agriculture minister, Charles Jr sought to justify the temporary freeze on the CET until the local market recalibrates to normal levels, saying that the move could cut cost to local consumers by more than half.
Charles Jr, who is member of parliament for Clarendon South East, also declared his intention to work with the Lionel Town Hospital on a food security project.
“I am going to be having a partnership with the Lionel Town Hospital to make sure that they start backyard farming at the hospital that helps to supply food for patients and for my staff that are there.”
However, he did not say when the project would get under way.