Caribbean must protect agricultural sector

In these days of the removal of trade restrictions under the rules of international trade liberalization, most Caribbean countries have become very afraid of infringing global trade rules, at least where they affect the interests of powerful countries, even though those very countries are not shy to take measures to protect their own interests. It is therefore most interesting to hear calls being made by experienced personnel in the agricultural sector in our region for our governments to take a firmer stance in defence of the Caribbean’s agricultural sector.{{more}}

Over the past week, Mr James Paul, Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) and Dr Desmond Ali, Executive Director of the Caribbean Poultry Association, have challenged Caribbean governments to act swiftly to protect the agricultural industry in the Caribbean, currently under serious threat.

They are no doubt worried about the statistics, which show that over the past two decades, the food import situation in the Caribbean has drastically worsened, to the extent that a region so naturally endowed, today imports more than US$3.5 billion worth of food. Imagine that! Of all the countries in the region, only Guyana and Belize are net food exporters (having more food exports than imports).

Concerned about this, Mr Paul boldly called for more protection for the agricultural sector by Caribbean governments. Addressing the fears of those in the region who feel that to do so would put us in contravention of international trade agreements, the prominent voice of agriculture in Barbados said that there is nothing wrong with such an approach.

“Even the United States…practises certain measures to protect its agricultural sector, quite rightly so, and I don’t understand why we in the region…seem to have some amount of hostility when it is suggested that certain measures be taken, which would at least help to protect the local agricultural sector and provide a market for local agricultural produce.”

His stance is supported by strong statements by Dr Ali who, in a newspaper interview, urged Caribbean governments to take a firm stand against the importation of cheap poultry products from the USA. He said that if this is not done, the industry, which generates an estimated US$600 million annually, could be decimated.

Dr Ali said that he had been pleading with the governments to do so, but to no avail. “It seems to me that there is a kind of inertia in governments,” he remarked, noting that in spite of writing papers on the subjects, meeting with Prime Ministers and Ministers of Trade, little had been done. It is as if governments think that the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) “do not allow us policy space to defend our industry,” he commented.

Speaking specifically about the region’s heavy importation of poultry products from the USA, Dr Ali made some interesting revelations. He explained that American consumers prefer chicken breasts and wings, and hence the “other parts, leg quarters and backs and necks…can be sold to a market at whatever price that market can afford.” China and Russia were the major purchasers of these parts, with Russia buying up to 1 million tonnes. However, a policy decision by the Russian government to aim at being a major exporter by 2015, drastically cut its imports to 350,000 tonnes, leaving the US to look for other markets for the 650,000-tonne difference.

The Caribbean is the nearest “dumping ground”, but, Dr Ali revealed, most disturbingly, since we do not have sophisticated regulations for monitoring and compliance, “…some of those leg quarters, some of them QUITE OLD AND DESTINED FOR PET MEAT” (do you get it “pet meat”?), “are exported to these islands”.

While we are busy importing these ‘cast-offs’, US franchises doing business in the region are going for Caribbean poultry products, telling us something about their judgement of the quality of Caribbean products. It is far from a healthy situation, figuratively or literally.

Like Mr Paul, Dr Ali feels that we cannot continue to be complacent about the situation and that governments do have room for action. He points out that Articles 146-149 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, “allows us measures” to defend the regional poultry industry and makes reference to Mexico, which has a free trade agreement with the USA, yet has increased duties on leg quarters from the USA.

The calls from both these highly-respected gentlemen ought to be taken seriously. The Caribbean has to learn to utilize any space available to advance its interests, to develop our food security capacity, to secure the livelihood of our farmers and protect the health of our people.

Renwick Rose is a community activist and social commentator.