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DDL unbothered by stalled exports of milk products to T&T
…says sales up
Kaieteur News – The refusal of Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) milk products into Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) has had no negative impact on the company’s operations.
DDL Executive Chairman, Komal Samaroo
In May this year, DDL revealed that over US$100,000 in milk products was denied entry into T&T over health and safety concerns based on the twin island’s regulations.
According to DDL’s Executive Chairman, Komal Samaroo, the company has since managed to increase exports even as it awaits certification from Trinidad to allow imports from Guyana.
He explained, “At this point in time we have provided all the technical information which they have all processed. The final stage remains to be done and that is to visit our facility but because at this point in time we are not in a position to export because we have found other markets, we have decided not to pursue that at this point but once we have the capability we intend to pick up from where we left off and pursue the Trinidad market.”
The DDL chairman noted that Trinidad and Guyana have been engaging on a government-to-government level for the products to be certified. “It’s a government-to-government process. We had nothing to do with it and the government agencies on both sides have completed their work. The final stage is for the agency in Trinidad to visit our facility. They are certifying the country and not the company as such so we have left it there for the time being,” Samaroo added.
When asked if there was a timeline for the visit, he noted that DDL is focused on its dairy project which he aims to be operational by mid-2026. As part of its diversification, DDL is developing its manufacturing business and integrating agriculture with milk products being a primary feature.
In the meantime, the chairman pointed out that the company has increased its exports to Barbados and other Caribbean markets. According to him, “They have grown beyond what we were expecting and so we thought that at this point in time let’s get our dairy operation going and then we gonna resume the focus on exports.”
In May, the chairman of DDL ventilated his concerns regarding what he described as “extremely onerous and stringent processes” for the importation of animal and animal-based products into Trinidad and Tobago.
In March this year, DDL exported four 20-foot shipping containers to T&T based on an evaluation of the Trinidad market by a Trinidadian business enterprise. The company said it has always utilised the services of a partner in the market who is knowledgeable of the regulations. The DDL chairman explained that while two containers of packaged milk products were denied entry and returned to Guyana, the bottled water products have been restricted from sale pending the completion of an “unconventionally exhaustive examination” of the products.
At the time, DDL was exporting the same products to three other Caribbean states including Suriname, St. Kitts and Barbados without encountering such barriers to trade.
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