PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Gone are the days when every fruit vendor in T&T had a variety of bananas. Over the last few years, “sikyè”, “silk”, “gros michel”, and “lacatan” bananas are seldom seen in our market and local grocery. Why does T&T import thousands of tonnes of bananas annually when such a desired fruit can be grown locally?
In order to comprehend the fundamental modus operandi of the diminished local banana market, we must journey a few decades back when the local banana market was sufficient and sustainable for the country.
News
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Once again Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran is predicting a level of growth in the economy which seems unrealistic. On the release of the April 2013 monetary report on Tuesday, the Governor projected a 2.5 per cent growth in gross domestic product for 2013.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – United States Vice President Joe Biden is due here at the end of May, the US Embassy has confirmed.
It gave no details on the proposed visit, but one local television station quoted Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran as saying that the visit is aimed at improving relations and cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar shrugged off reports that relations between Washington and Port of Spain had deteriorated telling a public meeting of her United National Congress
JetBlue Airways, the low-cost carrier that has become a major player in the South Florida and Caribbean market, said Thursday it plans to begin offering daily nonstop service to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from New York and Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood. The announcement of JetBlue’s continued expansion into the region comes as a new Haitian start-up prepares for its Mother’s Day inaugural flight from Nassau, Bahamas to Port-au-Prince.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The board of Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) did not meet yesterday as scheduled because vice-chairman Mohan Jaikaran and other directors were absent. Jaikaran, who is also the chairman of WIN Communications Ltd (WINTV), was among five directors who were a no-show yesterday. The other absentee directors were Gizelle Russell, Avedanand Persad, Venosh Sagewan-Maraj and the Jamaican representative, Dennis Lalor.
T&T Guardian learned chairman Rabindra Moonan was the lone director who turned up at CAL yesterday after the board meeting was cancelled.
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - Just as soon as the airline begins to show signs of fractured operations, there is a flurry of Caribbean government “actions”, and a plethora of expert articles on what ails the airline and what should be done to make it better. Almost no one seems to remember the principle of structured transformation_ the time to make changes/improve the way you do business, is when things are going well; not when you have your back up against the wall.
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – The shareholder governments of the regional airline, LIAT, will meet in Barbados on Friday, but a planned meeting in Bridgetown with Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar will not materialise, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has said.
He told a news conference that his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart was unable to attend the meeting because Parliament would be meeting on the same day.
LIAT shareholder governments are Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and Dominica.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - TRINIDAD-BASED Caribbean Airlines (CAL) assumed responsibility for Air Jamaica flights as well as the right to use the Air Jamaica brand name in 2010.
ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – A three-day regional workshop aimed at promoting regional economic integration as part of an International Financial Corporation (FIC) implemented initiative to automate the Bureau of Standards’ clearance for imports began here Wednesday.
“With this initiative we seek to help government agencies connect more efficiently, thus making import clearance easier and reducing logistics costs that are still a challenge for many businesses in the region,” said IFC trade logistics specialist Lazare Ristic.
The workshop is being attended by delegates from Antigua and Barbuda, Gren
CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – St. Lucia was jolted by an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.1 late on Tuesday night, the Trinidad-based Seismic Research Centre (SRC) of the University of the West Indies (UWI) reported Wednesday.
It said that the quake occurred at 11.45 pm (local time) and was located at 14.02° degrees north, and 60.61 degrees west.
UWI said that the quake with a depth of 20km “may have been felt in nearby islands” but that there have been no reports of injury or damage.