Pomeroon coconut industry plummets, exports decrease

Apr 27, 2018 News

… price per nut decreased four times for year

Alarming reports have just begun to surface on the decline of the Pomeroon Coconut Industry. Pomeroon coconut farmers said that they are faced with multiple challenges, the weightiest being that of the unavailability of markets.
This rapid downslide of the industry has left many farmers now fearful that there may be no hope for the once prosperous coconut industry. Coconut cultivation is the second largest industry in Region Two, Pomeroon/Supenaam. Most of the cultivations are in the Pomeroon.
According to farmers in the Pomeroon, the price per nut has reduced significantly since the beginning of the year. This, they claim, is due to the fact that the main buyers have reduced their demand for coconuts.
One farmer explained, “The price for coconuts is very poor right now… from $40, we now getting $30… The thing is the cost for production really high, and so it can’t pay.”
Most of the coconuts cultivated in the Pomeroon are sold to private individuals, some of whom are major exporters of coconut water. Kaieteur News understands, however, that many exporters are presently encountering difficulties with the export markets. One farmer explained, “We usually sell to private individuals… but now if we reap like 1000 nuts, only 300 would sell.
The last thing we hear is that the export markets close so we don’t know how long it would take to open back. All the buyers say is that they have to wait until the exports come in.”
The sudden setback in the coconut industry first caught the attention of the Essequibo Chambers of Commerce.
The chamber, which is an independent body aimed at propelling local industries in Region Two, met with the Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, earlier this month.
It was at this meeting that the Chamber first made public the decline in the industry. The President of the Essequibo Chamber of Commerce, Deleep Singh, explained, “The chamber recognized that the region went up to a certain way with the coconut industry… We were able to produce water coconut and dry coconut and after having huge production markets, for some reason everything went through.”
It was recommended by Mr. Deleep Singh, that all coconut producers come together and form a national body and pursue a market as one body.
It was also recommended by the Chamber of Commerce that the government intervene in an effort to revive the dying sector.
Singh explained, “The government through its trade channels and agencies, need to work together to come up with a solution. The chamber can also be the body that can bring these producers together so that they can find solutions in accessing markets.” [Romario Blair.]

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