50 containers of coconut leave Guyana monthly

Apr 07, 2010 News

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– Goya Foods interested in local presence

The local coconut industry is booming, with a major US-based food company negotiating to come to Guyana.
Renewed interest in the industry last year saw an unprecedented surge in exports with businesses and authorities saying that an estimated 50 containers are leaving Guyana monthly mainly for the Dominican Republic, US and Canada. By far, Dominican Republic is the largest purchaser and the Europe market is now being eyed.
On Saturday, a spokesperson for Pomeroon Oil Mills confirmed that the company is concentrating on the exports for now as price for coconut oil has dipped.

But there is huge confidence in the coconut water and the dry nuts for copra. Other pharmaceutical uses have been identified and these have spurred many locals to now revive abandoned farms.
Pharmaceutical companies have found the extracts of one of nature’s most blessed fruit to contain a valuable base for cream and other beauty products.
Pomeroon Oil Mills alone is currently exporting about six of the 40-foot containers, weekly. With its farms in the Pomeroon area, the company is by far the largest exporter in Guyana.
Last year October, Guyana shipped almost 900 tonnes of coconut to Caribbean territories, earning $50M. This was compared to a miserly 200 tonnes for the entire 2008.
According to General Manager of the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (New GMC), Nizam Hassan, the exported coconuts were used by Trinidad, Antigua and Dominican Republic to make canned coconut milk, copra and other value-added products.
According to Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, Goya Foods, a major US-based company, wants to tap into the industry, especially with coconut water. A team from the food giant was here recently and more than likely, a deal will be made.
Goya boasts a host of products ranging from condiments, pantry items, to beverages and frozen foods from all of Latin America. In 2005, Goya added more than 400 new products alone, reaching a milestone of more than 1,500 product offerings and distributed brands, and further solidifying its position as the definitive connection to Latin American cuisine.
The company also boasts tinned coconut water.
“As you are aware, we have the Coconut Revitalisation Plan that is being aggressively pushed. There were myths about the negative impacts of coconuts and its by-products and these are in fact just that- myths.”
However, exporting the dry or water coconuts is not just what the government intends to do to fully develop the industry.
“We are not just looking at the primary exports. The idea is to develop the value-added element as there are much more benefits to be derived.”
A company from India is also interested, the Minister has said.
Last year, the industry, after a decline for years, saw a major turnaround with rapid growth being recorded in terms of exports and interest in investments as a number of overseas markets attempt to corner the Guyana supply.
But it would not be an easy road for Guyana if the country intends to become a major player in the growing industry.
Many of the trees are too old and aspects of the agronomy need to be improved significantly to allow for more competitiveness.
According to Director of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), Oudho Homenauth, his department, which falls under the Ministry of Agriculture, is working closely with stakeholders.
In the Essequibo Islands, large tracts of lands have already been selected to farm coconut trees and there are moves to introduce other cash crops along with the current ones.
Government has gone ahead and ordered a coconut de-husker that is capable of reducing down days of delay due to the current manual process used by some coconut farmers, Homenauth said.
Getting manual labour is a huge challenge within the industry.
Earlier this year, the Minister had challenged the private sector to invest in bottling coconut water. The call was made during a workshop on “Best Practices for Harvesting, Post Harvest Handling and Processing of Coconut Water in Guyana.”

Researchers, senior scientists, agro-processors and farmers were present at the workshop held at the Guyana School of Agriculture, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.
According to the Minister, from the 1970s the coconut industry went into a steady decline as many believed that coconuts contributed to high cholesterol, a belief that is the furthest thing from the truth.
However, in the early part of the last decade, the interest picked up and Pomeroon Oil Mills in Charity was evidence of the confidence that that industry was rebounding.
Within the last three years, interest has risen to an extent that there is a huge demand and a fear that there may not be enough to supply a ready market, both local and overseas.
According to Persaud, Guyana should be paying more attention to adding value like the bottling of coconut water. It is estimated that the country loses out about 70 per cent of what it should really get if the industry is fully tapped into.
The Minister disclosed that within the last two years, the industry has seen growth in the value added sector.
However, there is an urgent need to improve on the supply aspect and estate owners and farmers will have to capitalise on training and using technologies to meet targets, the Minister said.
The Ministry has earmarked $4M for a processing plant at the Hope Estate. To this end, the Minister said, stakeholders should capitalise and make full use of it.
There is a need also for the local businesses to fully invest.
To further the initiative, which is being supported by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, consultants were in the country since December to examine the coconut industry.

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