Pomeroon Trading Inc. looking to score big with Guyana’s coconut products

May 21, 2021 News

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Kaieteur News – With Guyana once again taking up its place in CARICOM as the lead on agriculture, the PPP/C Government has been aggressively promoting and supporting investment and development of the agriculture sector.   In addition to rice and sugar production, focus is now being placed on the cultivation of non-traditional and high-earning commodities. One such industry is the coconut industry.
Since taking office, Government through the Ministry of Agriculture has moved to develop the sector by ensuring proper planting materials are easily accessible to farmers across the country.
Last year, as part of the Hope Coconut Industries Limited’s (HCIL) emergency budgetary allocation, two new coconut nurseries were established, one at Kairuni on the Linden Soesdyke Highway and the other in Charity, Region Two. Furthermore, the Ministry has announced plans to establish six additional nurseries across the country during this year.
On Tuesday, representatives from Pomeroon Trading Inc. met with Minister Mustapha at his Regent Street office to discuss their current operations and plans for expansion in the future in the coconut industry.
The company’s Co-Founder, Duncan Turnbull, told Minister Mustapha that, so far, they have 700 acres under management and are soon to expand to 1,200 acres. Moreover, they have grown about 80,000 high-yielding coconut seedlings, 75% of which are planted on their land and 25% distributed to local farmers.
He also said that the company was able to establish fruitful relationships with farmers in the Pomeroon to ensure optimal seedstock, thereby driving the next generation of Guyanese coconut yields
“We started planting about three years ago. This began with our seedling nursery – the largest private sector nursery in the Caribbean. Controlling the quality of seedlings is vital. Our team of agronomists hand-select the seed nuts from across the Pomeroon, before subjecting them to stringent checks back on our farm. Every two months, we carry out tests on their growth, strength and appearance. These trees will be in the ground for decades, you have to get this right” Mr. Turnbull said.

Jared Kissoon, the company’s Chief Operations Officer said the company works very closely with regional smallholder farmers and runs outreach programmes with them.
“We purchase seed nuts from certain farms that we have earmarked. We also sell seedlings to farmers looking to plant new land. Finally, we work with NAREI, CARDI, and the European Union to be a model farmer, running training sessions for smallholders and teaching them best practice,” Mr. Kissoon said.
Mr. Kissoon also said as the company explores retail and export opportunities, he thinks the biggest opportunities lie in exporting to the Caribbean and the USA.  The company currently cultivates the three-year dwarf variety primarily for the production of coconut water. They are also involved in inter-cropping, with crops like passion fruit, bananas, turmeric and ginger under cultivation.
Mr. Turnbull explained that the company’s vision is to acquire more lands to expand their operations, and establish a processing facility.
“The Caribbean agriculture sector must shift to encompass greater vertical integration. This means a pivot to value-add crops, construction of processing facilities, and a focus on exporting finished products. This requires investment in internationally certified food facilities, cold-chain distribution, and building human capacity across the sector. Large-scale farmers will grow alongside smallholder farmers, both selling into the same processing facility and thereby opening up new markets for smallholders,” Mr. Turnbull said.
The CEO also said that the company is currently exploring a joint venture with large Caribbean drinks distributors to export coconut water. However, he said the company’s aim is to become US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certified to be able to export their products to the United States.
Pomeroon Trading Inc. is a private company with shareholders that commenced operations in Guyana four years ago and currently employs close to 65 persons.
Minister Mustapha complimented the team for their investment so far. He told the team that a host of new opportunities will soon be made available in the agriculture sector.
“Very soon, a number of new opportunities will be made available for local farmers as we are currently working to address barriers to trade in the Caribbean. After His Excellency, President Irfaan Ali, would’ve submitted a paper to CARICOM on advancing the agriculture agenda, a task force was set up that Guyana is chairing.
So we are working aggressively to tap into the CARICOM market, which is a very large and lucrative market,” Minister Mustapha said.
He also disclosed that although COVID-19 has affected the entire world, Guyana’s agriculture sector has recorded some amount of growth for the first quarter of the year.

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