Trade Watch V8 No 3 July 2014

EXPORT DEVELOPMENT

CEC enables entrepreneurs and established businesses to set up physical operations in Cayman without exorbitant outsourcing costs, due to Cayman’s tax-neutral status and government-granted special zone concessions. To date, the model has attracted 150 firms set up generating foreign direct investment and the accompanying multiplier effect on the local economy has resulted in an estimated CI$15 million impact on the local economy. (TW) Continued from Page 1

Food Safety Preparedness Meeting and MOU Signing

The specialty food industry has become recognised as having major growth and export revenue-generating potential. The unique offerings made possible by use of the natural resources of the Caribbean’s tropical climate appeal to the palates of consumers in niche markets both regionally and extra-regionally. Many products produced in the Caribbean have mass market appeal and enjoy relative success on the global market. However, the majority of agro-processing products have been limited in their export capability and reach by various factors such as packaging, marketing and food safety requirements. Caribbean Export recognized these challenges, and, as part of its 10th EDF RPSDP, has endeavoured to address them. As a manifestation of this mandate, the Agency launched three key initiatives during its Food Safety Preparedness Meeting on May 28, 2014 at the Hilton Barbados Resort. The meeting’s agenda encompassed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the CARICOM Regional Organisation of Standards and Quality (CROSQ), the opening of a Special Call for Proposals – Food Safety for CARIFORUM agro-processing firms to receive financial assistance, and the launch of the Agency’s newly developed online Food Safety Portal. Caribbean Export’s Executive Director, Pamela Coke-Hamilton opened the morning’s proceedings with an informative address on the history and context of the Food Safety Preparedness Programme. She also highlighted the intention of the MoU stating that it “sets the platform for cooperation to take place with the aim of ensuring that fresh foods and agro-processed products are produced under standard quality control conditions within the CARIFORUM States so that they meet the sanitary and technical regulatory requirements of the international marketplace.”

The development of the Food Safety Preparedness Programme has been on-going since January 2010, when Caribbean Export received USD$1 million from the Caribbean Aid for Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund (CARTFund), funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), to finance a 2-year project aimedat strengthening the Specialty FoodSector and increasing the export of specialty food products from CARIFORUM countries. The first phase of the project was a study to determine the priority actions needed to address the major constraints to expanding the sector, which resulted in the development of a Regional Specialty Food Sector Strategy and Action Plan. The MoU among the three regional agencies is intended to establish a formal framework for collaboration on matters relating to global food safety export requirements. More specifically, the agreement aims to facilitate the sharing of information on the respective work programmes of the parties to determine strategic areas of cooperation; while operating in good faith on the dissemination of information pertaining to food safety to stakeholders in the CARIFORUM States. It is hoped that ultimately this collaboration will benefit the wider agro-business community fresh food exporters in particular. The second launch was for the Special Call for Proposals - Food Safety which was conceptualised to provide funding for CARIFORUM agro-processing firms, which are aiming to meet food safety requirements for global export, in particular those of the EU market. The programme provides reimbursable grants of up to 10,000 euros which should represent a maximum of 70% of the total project cost of the firm’s intended food safety preparedness project. The final launch was the Food Safety Portal, the development of which was made possible by funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) under the CARTFund Programme with financing from DFID. The portal is intended to act as a comprehensive database of information and support tools to enable the regional Specialty Food sector to prepare their products for the rigorous food safety requirements for export to the EU and United States (US).The portal provides the proactive entrepreneur with the tools to benchmark his or her firm and its readiness for export and consequently develop a preparedness plan. The regional Agro-processing sector in general will also benefit as the site provides simple and concrete steps for satisfying food safety requirement for export which could be utilized by industrial support organizations. (TW)

Pamela Coke Hamilton, Executive Director, Caribbean Export; Mr Russell Franklyn, Officer in Charge, CROSQ; Mr Gregg C. E. Rawlins Representative in Trinidad and Tobago and Coordinator, Regional Integration, Caribbean Region, IICA; Dr Beverley Wood, Project Coordinator, National Agriculture Health and Food Control Programme, Ministry of Agriculture looks on.

2 Tradewatch • The Official E-Newsletter of the Caribbean Export Development Agency • Vol. 8 No. 3 July 2014