ACP Rum Industry threatened by EU programme closure

Aug 05, 2009 News

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The West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers’ Association Inc. (WIRSPA) is calling for an extension to a vital programme that will help to safeguard the future of the ACP Caribbean rum industry.
According to a release, as many as 17 significant modernisation, waste treatment and energy projects in several countries would not be completed by the date scheduled for the closure of the current programme and are potentially at risk.
Further, it was noted that the Authentic Caribbean Rum Marque as a symbol of provenance and quality for ACP Caribbean rum and the first regional instrument of its type, could well be in jeopardy if additional time was not available.
The multi-million Euro support fund and associated Authentic Caribbean Rum (ACR) ‘True Rum’ marketing campaign in Europe, is due to come to an end in early 2010.
The programme which is financed through €70 million provided by the European Union and with €65 million in co-financing from the sector itself assists the upgrading of production facilities; improvements in waste management and environmental practices and marketing and distribution of ACP Caribbean brands in Italy, Spain and the UK, three key growth markets.
At a recent board meeting, WIRSPA agreed to redouble its efforts to seek an 18-month extension for the programme from the EU. But while no extra monies would be required to fund the extension, as much as 20 percent of the programme’s resources, or €14 million, could be lost to the region if no extension were granted.
CARIFORUM Ministers meeting in Barbados on June 15-16 also endorsed the call for an extension and to this end have agreed to lobby the European Commission at the highest levels.
Chairman of WIRSPA, Dr. Frank Ward, has said that €105 million in investment projects have already been approved and are being implemented by 23 companies to date, including some €15 million invested in waste management and environmental projects. Of the total investment, approximately €44 million will be provided by grants from the EU.
Speaking at a special event for regional and international media, stakeholders and rum producers from around the Caribbean on May 27 last in Barbados, Dr. Ward said, “The programme is gathering momentum and it is vital that it continues, so we can build on the successes we have already achieved.
The work being done both in the Caribbean and Europe is making a real difference in supporting Caribbean companies to move away from bulk spirits sales into the more lucrative territory of branded products, which in turn will create much-needed wealth and jobs in ACP Caribbean countries.
“We still have a long way to go, and there is still funding available, so we are asking the EU for more time so we can see the programme through to its logical conclusion.”
Rum expert and writer, Dave Broom, also spoke at the event, echoing the need for continuity of the campaign: “A recession is not a time for retrenchment. This is a time of opportunity, a time to recalibrate, to look at what is and isn’t working. Get that right now and when the bounce back happens you will be in a significantly better position. Stop investing now and you will lose out.”
And according to Chairman of Demerara Distillers Ltd, Dr.Yesu Persaud, “The Marque holds real promise for brands like ours. An extension to the programme and the campaign will allow us to continue our ongoing investments to modernise and build our brands. This will benefit the economy and ensure job security in Guyana.”
To date, the programme has funded 30 projects in Guyana, worth nearly €15 million.
Much of the money has been used to modernise rum production processes and create and defend much-needed wealth and jobs in the country.
The Integrated Development Programme for the ACP Caribbean Rum Sector has provided funding of 70 million Euros from the European Community through a Programme which began in late 2002 and will end in June 2010.
The programme is implemented by the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers’ Association (WIRSPA) on behalf of CARIFORUM – the Caribbean Forum of ACP Caribbean States.
The Caribbean ACP States are Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.  They are signatories of successive Lomé Conventions first signed in 1975 between the ACP and the EU and now superseded by the Cotonou Agreement in 2000.
ACR brands are made in 13 ACP Caribbean territories and brands promoted under the WIRSPA umbrella include Angostura 5 Year Old, Appleton Estate VX Jamaica Rum, Barbancourt Réserve Spéciale Five Star Rum, Barceló Imperial, Borgoe 8 year old, Brugal Extra Viejo, Chairman’s Reserve, Clarke’s Old Grog, Cockspur Fine Rum, Doorly’s XO, El Dorado 15 Year Old, English Harbour 5 Year Old, Mount Gay Extra Old, Mount Gilboa, One Barrel Refined Old Rum, Sunset Captain Bligh XO Rum, Westerhall Plantation, XM Royal 10 Year Old.
The West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers’ Association Inc. was founded in the late 1960s and is an association of national associations of rum producers in the Caribbean. Based in Barbados, WIRSPA was originally set up to promote and protect the interests of members concerned with the distillation, export and marketing of rum.

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