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Coconut exports quadruple over past 10 months
Agri-Fest officials and others at Thursday’s press conference at the New GMC office, Robb Street. From left is Rodwell Denny of Tandy’s Manufacturing, Dr Dwight Walrond, of the NDDP, Nizam Hassan of the New GMC and Basudeo Dwarka of the Pesticides Board.
Guyana’s coconut industry boomed this year with almost $50M earned from exports at the end of October.
According to the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (New GMC), more than 900 tonnes of dried coconuts were shipped to the Caribbean during the last 10 months. For the same period last year, only 200 tonnes were shipped.
General Manager of New GMC, Nizam Hassan, during a press conference on Thursday to examine the success of Agri Fest which concluded Sunday, urged Guyanese to seriously consider resuscitating coconut farms to get a piece of the export pie.
Coconuts were exported to Trinidad, Antigua and Dominican Republic to make canned coconut milk, copra and other value-added products.
Meanwhile, speaking on Agri-Fest, Hassan also said that Guyana’s second agriculture exposition and show met its objectives with almost 15,000 persons visiting the event at the Guyana National Stadium.
There were several booths displaying services and products of the different departments of the Ministry of Agriculture and other related companies.
However, one the highlights of the show, was the 180-foot forest tunnel that was built by the Guyana Forestry Commission to promote the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
According to the organisers, the tunnel with its special sound effects and lights was a source of much interest of visitors.
Participants came as far as Region One and there are many calls now to get more information on exports, among other things, Hassan said.
According to Basudeo Dwarka, Registrar of the Ministry’s Pesticides and Toxic Chemical Control Board, farmers expressed great interest in the reduced use of pesticides, one of the highlight of that department’s booth. Additionally, that department was able to educate visitors on crop rotation, resistant varieties and land preparation, all key aspects of farming.
Meanwhile, according to Dr Dwight Walrond, Programme Director of the National Dairy Development Programme (NDDP), his department has been receiving quite a number of calls following their exhibition. With NDDP’s main focus on improving the genetic stock of the cattle industry, the booth at Agri-Fest displayed a model beef farm, which according to Dr Walrond, indicated that one does not need huge sums of money to develop a farm.
NDDP also was able to educate visitors on the different cuts of beef and a mechanical way of milking cows. At the press briefing on Agri-Fest was Rodwell Denny, of Tandy’s Manufacturing, which uses fruits and other locally grown items to make jams and jellies and fruit mix, among other things.
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