Agri. Ministry eyes bottling factory for coconut water

Mar 29, 2014 News

By 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture is looking to establish either a bottling or canning factory to facilitate the exportation of Guyana’s coconut water.
The local coconut industry has seen many developments over the past few years. There is now an increase demand for coconut and its byproducts on both the local and international markets.

Agriculture Minister,
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy

More than 100,000 water nuts are required weekly to supply just the local market. Raking in over $470M in exports, Ramsammy specified that coconut is currently the third largest export crop behind rice and sugar.
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy noted that so far, the European Union has been expressing much interest in coconuts and its by-products.
During the latter part of 2013, a group from Europe had proposed that Guyana supply them with 32,000 litres of coconut water on a weekly basis, for the purpose of supplying supermarkets there. This has been recorded as a huge opportunity for local coconut farmers, and is expected to contribute to the overall growth of the sector, especially since it was made clear that this initial order could see an increase.
Dr. Ramsammy, in a recent interview with this newspaper, said that his Ministry is looking to transform the coconut industry.
As a means of doing so, Dr. Ramsammy said that his Ministry is looking to develop an extensive line of coconut value-added products and implement a programme to help local consumers fully utilise all parts of the coconut tree.
Dr. Ramsammy said that while there has been an increase in the number of agro-processors venturing into the making of coconut byproducts, every component of the coconut tree isn’t being fully explored and exploited locally.
Reflecting on the aforementioned programme, Dr. Ramsammy said that he hopes that this would enable and educate local consumers on how to exhaust the use of the various parts of the coconut palm, including its shells and branches.
“We have to do this if we are going to keep the industry vibrant. At present, in the Pomeroon, the coconut shells end up in the rivers. We don’t want that,” the Minister stressed.
As part of the major 2014 plans, Dr. Ramsammy noted that the Ministry is working to develop an extensive line of value-added products. He said that in some countries, coconut is even used to make energy drinks, and that this has been doing well on international markets.
He explained that to this end, technical assistance is being sought from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Mexican Government.
“More can be made from coconuts,” the Agriculture Minister emphasized. He said that another plan for 2014 includes the replacement of really old coconut trees with new ones.
“We want more persons to plant the shorter 18-month trees,” Ramsammy said.9
Dr. Ramsammy said that the success of the thriving coconut industry during last year can be measured by the number of new farmers and agro-processors who have started to invest, and are continuously investing in coconut and its many by-products.
“Guyana’s coconut has been in vast demand over the past few years, especially on the international market.”
Dr. Ramsammy said that several programmes are ongoing in order to sensitize farmers about the various technologies and strategies that they can use to improve coconut production.
The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) has been doing a commendable job, he said.
Although many people make a living by planting trees and selling coconuts, not many of them take time to groom and take care of the trees as they would other plants.
Kaieteur News understands that if a not-fertilized tree produces 20 to 25 nuts per bunch, a fertilized and well-groomed tree can produce as many as 48 nuts per bunch.
Minister Ramsammy said that Guyana’s coconut contains one of the thickest kernels in the world, and because of this the Ministry of Agriculture has opted to make the coconut industry a priority for this year.
Some products that are made locally using the various components of coconut include roofing tiles made from the husk, extra virgin coconut oil, coconut-based wine, coconut butter, coconut flakes, ornaments, jewellery, and kitchen utensils.