CDB to fund study for cargo service in Caribbean   

Apr 06, 2023 News

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…initiative aimed at boosting agricultural trade in the South-East Caribbean

Kaieteur News – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will finance consultancy services for a study to explore options for establishing a Maritime Cargo Service between Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago primarily for the movement of agricultural products.

The initiative is part of the CDB’s pledge to improve food security within the Caribbean, and to promote Regional Cooperation. It also demonstrates the Bank’s support for the imperative, announced last year by CARICOM Heads of Government, to achieve a 25% reduction in the Region’s food import bill by 2025, CDB said in a press release on Wednesday. The Heads identified lack of adequate regional transportation as a major obstacle to the movement of agricultural products within the Region and major contributor to food insecurity.

“Policy makers in CARICOM have established that intra-regional agricultural trade can balance food deficits and surpluses, contribute to price stability, and increase the diversity of food supply, all of which can achieve greater food and nutrition security for the Caribbean,” CDB’s Director of Projects, Mr. Daniel Best explained. He added, “CDB is aware that improving intra-regional trade in agriculture will require interventions across the ecosystem, however the provision of efficient and sustainable transportation to move agricultural goods will go a far way in achieving 25 by 25.”

The Project will explore options for addressing a range of factors affecting the conveyance of agricultural products by sea including management and operational systems, onshore facilities, food safety provisions, and customs and plant quarantine operations. The main objective of the initiative is to identify opportunities for urgent improvement in maritime transportation capacity, recommend transportation modalities and provide solutions which utilise existing shipping assets.

A Technical Working Group will be established to provide oversight of the study. The body will include representatives from governments of the participating countries, the CARICOM Secretariat, the CARICOM Private Sector Organization, and the CDB.

Following their summit last year in Suriname Caricom Heads had said that they considered the Region’s need for a significantly enhanced transportation system that can bolster food security and deepen regional integration. “Heads of Government welcomed an update from the Prime Minister of Barbados on advanced discussions with the United Arab Emirates regarding support for both a traditional ferry and fast ferry service for the Region and noted that a related proposal from the Capital Abu Dhabi is being awaited,” the heads had said in their end-of conference communiqué. Besides, the heads also agreed to establish a Working Group to provide oversight of the project which will include representatives from the Governments of Barbados, Grenada, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the CARICOM Secretariat, Caricom Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), and the CDB.

The matter of improved transportation and connectivity had been one of grave concern over the years and it was raised again at the recently held Agriculture Expo hosted in Guyana. The CARICOM Heads of Government at the exposition called on investors to allocate funding to transport goods throughout the Community.

Premier of Montserrat, Joseph Farrell had rallied investors to support the acquisition of “at least two ships, one going north and one going south, so that we can move our products from one country to the next.” Prime Minister Keith Rowley had also referred to the multipurpose vessels that were donated in the era of the West Indies Federation by the Government of Canada to the Region, and told investors, “If you really want to help CARICOM …, one of the best things that you could do is to help the team of governments to fund and have operating, within the CARICOM Region, vessels of that nature so as to bring our people together by seas…It has been done; it needs to be done. Goods and services by sea after by rail is always the cheapest,’’ Dr. Rowley asserted.
For his part, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minster, Gaston Browne, said it is imperative to find the means to “move our goods”, as he pointed out that it was easier to ship goods from Miami than within the Region.

“If we don’t have transportation then all our efforts would be in vain… In this regard, reliable transportation by sea and by air is imperative and urgently requires attention. It is imperative and urgently demands attention,” he said. Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Chester Cooper also threw out the challenge for the Caribbean to develop a strategic plan that targets logistical transport and connectivity issues.

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• Barbados, Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), CARICOM, Grenada, Technical Working Group

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