Trinidad’s restriction on honey, poultry... Guyana holds bilateral talks to find resolutions

Trinidad’s restriction on honey, poultry… Guyana holds bilateral talks to find resolutions

Sep 17, 2019 News

Guyana and Trinidad are holding talks to solve a simmering trade dispute over a wide range of especially agricultural products that the neighbouring country has been rejecting.

The delegations from Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago who were part of the meeting.

High Commissioner of Guyana to Trinidad and Tobago, Bishwaishwar Ramsaroop-Maraj (r) delivers opening remarks. Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Senator Avinash Singh, sits to his right.

Over the weekend, key talks began, which the Coalition Government hopes will bring swift resolutions.
Trinidad and Tobago, which has been trading heavily with Guyana, is being accused of blocking honey and poultry from local farmers. However, authorities in Guyana have been paying close attention to the array of goods from the Twin-Island Republic that are flooding the local supermarket shelves.
The products include a wide range of items from beers, to ketchup and cereal, among many others.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Friday, September 13, technical experts from Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago participated in a bilateral meeting to discuss market access issues related to the export of agricultural products from Guyana to Trinidad and Tobago.
“The meeting, held at the Headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries of Trinidad and Tobago, was convened following reports of Guyanese exporters facing difficulties when exporting products to Trinidad and Tobago,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
According to the Ministry, during the meeting, the parties discussed challenges in exporting fresh agricultural products, the trans-shipment of honey, the ban on the export of poultry meat from Guyana, trade in equine, and the revision of the Trinidad and Tobago/Guyana Fresh Agricultural Produce and Forest Products Trade Protocol (2009).
“Following the meeting, both countries have agreed to find resolutions to the issues discussed.”
The Guyanese delegation was led by High Commissioner of Guyana to Trinidad and Tobago, Bishwaishwar Ramsaroop-Maraj and included senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, the New Guyana Marketing Corporation, Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).
The Delegation from Trinidad and Tobago was led by Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Senator Avinash Singh and was supported by senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries and the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) also participated in this Meeting as a third party, in its capacity as the regional agency mandated to deal with Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary (SPS) matters.

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