GRENADA-Finance ministry predicts a decline in the agricultural sector for 2023

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – The Ministry of Finance has predicted a decline in the agriculture sector for 2023.

However, those involved in the various industries within the sector will learn how it performed during the first half of 2023 and, at the same time, identify priorities for 2024 when the Ministry of Agriculture holds a national consultation on September 14.

Scheduled to take place in the eastern parish of St Andrew, known for massive agricultural productions, the two main objectives are sensitizing stakeholders and soliciting their views.

“The objectives sensitize stakeholders on the achievements of the sector over the past year and provide an update on the economic performance of Grenada for the first half of the year and the growth prospect for the medium term,” says the Government’s Information Service.

Focusing on the future, the consultation will also “solicit your views and opinion on the challenges within the sector, solutions, and prioritization of action for implementation within the 2024 budget.”

Finance Minister Dennis Cornwall recently presented the 2023 Mid-Year Review in the Lower House of Parliament.

The review, now a public document, was prepared in August 2023.

“Overall, a small decline is expected in the Agricultural Sector in 2023,” said the review, explaining that the decision was based on the limited data from the Central Statistical Office and estimates by the Ministry of Finance.

The review said that an estimated decline of 5.5 percent is expected for nutmeg production, 3.5 percent for cocoa, and 10.0 percent for the Marketing and National Importing Board (MNIB) Purchases of Other Crops.

“Given that the MNIB is undergoing restructuring, MNIB purchases is likely to be an inaccurate proxy for production of “Other Crops” for the rest of 2023,” said the report, which explained that data remains a challenge for the agriculture sector, and as such, estimates are used where data gaps exist.

The report, also presented to Members of the Upper House of Parliament, said that the Central Statistics Office aims to gather data from Supermarkets and Hotels to compensate for the reduced availability of data from the MNIB.