CARIBBEAN-CPA reaffirms support for CARICOM food import bill reduction initiative

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KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC—The Jamaica-based Caribbean Poultry Association (CPA) has reaffirmed its support for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) 25 by 2025 initiative, which aims to reduce the region’s billion-dollar food import bill by a quarter by next year.

CPA said that following the outcomes of the recently concluded 115th special meeting of the Council of Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on Agriculture and the 44th meeting of the Board of Directors, it is reaffirming its “support and commitment” to the CARICOM initiative.

CPA, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year, said that over the years, it has grown and now represents stakeholders from the largest agribusiness in CARICOM, which includes small, medium, and vertically integrated producers.

“These stakeholders are involved in producing grains, poultry meat, eggs, value-added products, and finished feeds for poultry, swine, cattle, sheep, and fish. The CPA’s extensive network includes, among others, input suppliers, transportation services, technical specialists, managers, and operational staff distributed across various countries.”

The CPA said that the poultry sector accounts for just over 80 percent of the total animal protein in the diets of the people of CARICOM, adding that “there has been notable growth in broiler meat production in Guyana, Belize, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.”

The CPA said the region is 75 percent self-sufficient in broiler meat and approaching self-sufficiency in table eggs.

It added that with the products of nine processing plants in Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago approved by the COTED for entry into member states and the adoption of the CARICOM Regional Standard specification for poultry and poultry products, it is “positioning itself to increase production not only in grain, broiler meat and eggs, but also in value-added products and to trade these products to satisfy growing regional demand.”

According to the CPA, Barbados is leading the way in further reducing the low carbon footprint of chicken production through rooftop solar on chicken houses, and a new feed mill will soon be commissioned.

It said that Belize has achieved self-sufficiency in broiler meat, table eggs, hatching eggs, corn, and soya and is positioning itself for exports of broiler meat.

The CPA said Guyana had harvested its first major crop of soya beans this year, displacing 12 percent of imported soya bean meal.

“The government of Guyana is supporting the industry to develop breeding farms to meet its hatching egg requirements. Investments are underway in environmentally controlled housing for both egg and broiler production,” the CPA said.

It said Jamaica is initiating intra-regional trade in value-added poultry products and innovating to meet consumers’ evolving trends for flavors, convenience, eco-friendly brands, and products that promote personal well-being.

The CPA regrets that 30 percent of Jamaica’s hatching egg requirements are now met by local breeder farms, while Suriname prioritizes utilizing all available by-products in its feed formulations, with significant use of rice, rice bran, fishmeal, and wheat middling.

Trinidad and Tobago is maintaining a balanced industry, with 60 percent of broiler meat produced by integrated operators and 40 percent by small farmers.

“There have been major hatcheries and environmentally controlled housing investments to support a market that consumes one million chickens a week,” the CPA added.

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