​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Good afternoon. Our time is short and our agenda substantive and important. I will therefore be brief.
​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Good afternoon. Our time is short and our agenda substantive and important. I will therefore be brief.
​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Honourable Lawrence Cartwright, Chairman of the Thirty-Eighth Special Meeting of the COTED on Agriculture Honourable Matthew Walter, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Dominica, our Host Ministers of Agriculture of CARICOM Member States Other Heads of Delegations Representatives of International and Regional Organizations Agriculture Stakeholders Ladies and Gentlemen
​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen I feel particularly honoured to have been afforded the opportunity to deliver these remarks at the Tenth Caribbean Week of Agriculture in the Nature Island.
​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It is with great pleasure that I extend a warm “Nature Island” welcome to all those present here today at this momentous week of activities.
 I feel privileged to be associated with this most important, timely and necessary event and feel humbled that my country was chosen as host.
​(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Greetings to all of you gathered here this afternoon in the beautiful Nature Island of the Caribbean – Dominica!
We are honoured in the Commonwealth of Dominica, to be hosting the 10th Caribbean Week of Agriculture and the many very important discussions and fora under the auspices of our august regional agencies and international organisations.
The CARICOM Fresh and Processed Market Opportunity Study was conducted during March and April 2009. The methodology used included desk research on production and trade databases, review of recent fresh and processed produce industry studies and field visits and interviews. The quality and reliability of the available production and trade data posed some limitations on the analysis. However, all attempts were made to validate the existing data and to ensure that the conclusions arrived at were in line with observed industry trends.
THE Jamaica Manufacturers' Association (JMA) yesterday joined the agricultural sector in expressing concern regarding the proposed reduction in the Common External Tariff (CET).
"If duties are reduced, this will threaten the existence of several locally manufactured products, which will have implications for agriculture as well as the socio-economic health of the country," said a statement issued yesterday by the JMA.
IN THE future, producers of fruits and vegetables and their products will be required to identify where any potential hazards can occur, establish control points, monitor how well their systems work and fix problems when they occur.
This is according to Juliana Almeida, a Representative of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) who spoke at a workshop organised by the Barbados Manufacturers’ Association (BMA) on the “New Requirements and Opportunities to Export Fruit and Vegetables to the USA” held recently at BMA headquarters.