Caricom Private Sector body praises Guyana after slashing interest rates for poultry farmers

– says Region can benefit if other countries follow suit

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s efforts to have banks slash interest rates for loans to poultry farmers have attracted praise not only from the local Private Sector but from the Caricom Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) as well.

The CPSO released a statement in which it applauded the move to slash interest rates by three per cent. It was pointed out by the CPSO that poultry meat is one of 19 agri-food commodities that are vital to the goals of slashing food import bills to the Region by 25 per cent by 2025.
According to the group, extra-regional imports of poultry meat into Caricom markets are valued at a whopping US$149 million annually. Guyana’s initiatives address critical issues for poultry farmers, such as the cost of finance and feed, thereby paving the way for increased production in Guyana and thus, the Region. But to do this will require reforms – one of which CPSO proposed was a Caricom-wide- tariff rate.
“The initiatives announced by President [Irfaan] Ali are, therefore, concrete steps towards meeting these requirements. In addition to much-needed domestic policy support, the most critical ‘policy shift’ that remains is for Caricom Member States to create or allow the emergence of a ‘genuine single regional market’ for poultry meat, that provides equal market access by all poultry meat producers to all CSME markets,” the CPSO said.
“Relative comparisons of the market access for poultry meat imports into the Caricom Member States demonstrate wide variations in the Common External Tariff (CET) and market access. According to the CPSO’s work, such variations in the import market access among Member States highlight the scope for the possible introduction of a Caricom-wide Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) regime, underpinned by a harmonised CET.”
Additionally, the CPSO noted the importance of removing the remaining Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), and adhering to a Caricom Poultry Standard and a Caricom Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary (SPS) regime. The CPSO said that based on their projections, Caricom Members could substantially reduce extra-regional imports of food if they introduced a TRQ regime for poultry meat and intra-regional imports under these conditions.
“The announcement by President Ali of interest rate reductions to poultry farmers and expansion in crop production as an adjunct to poultry feed, positions Guyana and other Caricom producers to potentially become ‘net exporters’ of poultry meat to Caricom markets within the construct of a harmonised Caricom single market for poultry meat,” the CPSO said.
It went on to note that Guyana, along with Belize, already maintains low levels of poultry meat imports. Guyana’s announcement is also timely considering the food insecurity already confronting 57 per cent of Caricom’s population and the increasing challenges to the global food supply chain. It also noted the merits of other countries following suit.
“In endorsing the significance of the announcement by President Ali as Lead Head with responsibility for Agriculture, the CPSO recognises the acceleration in the pace of extra-regional import displacement that could occur, if other Caricom Member States introduce similar measures in accordance with their financial circumstances.”
“The initiatives announced for Guyana can also spur closer collaboration and ‘scaling-up’ among the regional poultry industry, particularly Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, among others,” CPSO said.
Over the weekend, during a meeting with stakeholders in the poultry sector at State House, President Ali had announced that his Government has managed to broker the reduction of interest rates on loans to poultry farmers from eight per cent to five per cent. According to him, at least four commercial banks in Guyana have agreed to reduce their interest rates on loans to poultry farmers/operators.
This means that small-, medium-, and large-scale farmers are expected to benefit from this three per cent lowering of the interest rate. He went on to add that poultry farmers and operators with existing loans at these four banks would also benefit from this new lowered interest rate from next month. The four banks are Citizens Bank, Republic Bank, Demerara Bank, and the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI).