Pig farmers’ business in jeopardy, says Williams

Days after the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) boss James Paul slammed a group of businesses involved in the importation of pork and poultry products, President of the Barbados Pig Farmers Association Henderson Williams has confirmed that pig farmers are livid with the development which is resulting in significant losses.

Williams indicated that some farmers were fearful that the actions which Paul described as unjust and reckless, could potentially push them out of business.

In fact, Williams said when the association’s executive reviewed the development, it found there has been an exodus of farmers who do not have the capacity to continue operating with the current competition from imported products.

Williams told Barbados TODAY it was therefore important for the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to do whatever was necessary to fully investigate and address the issue.

“The pig farmers are livid, to say the least, because there has to be tighter import control when indeed we have tariffs that are supposed to be matched to particular items…. These pork chops, for example, are slipping into the Barbados market boxed very nicely, in terms of the packaging and are now affecting the local community.

“It would result in a loss of revenue because some of the larger pork producers were actually taking product into that space, where the imported products are now going, for a long time; and recently, they have cut them off completely and they are producing this product that is imported by a third party,” Williams said.

The pig farmer said the relevant authorities needed to pay attention to why pork and poultry products were allowed to be imported when the local producers could meet the demand.

Williams noted that major wholesalers having imported meat products on their shelves at a cheaper cost would encourage consumers to purchase those instead of the fresh products being produced on the local market.

During a press conference last week, Paul, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the BAS, said he heard that a retailer had been importing chicken breast and pork chops although the local market had been meeting the demand with high-quality products.

Paul also pointed out that some importers had been setting up supposed meat manufacturing plants.

Williams said allowing the infiltration of imported pork products into the local market puts a major strain on the farming community and on subsidiary services and small businesses that benefit from the sector.

He said: “It is not just pig farmers that benefit. It is also the butcher that benefits. It is also those third-party sellers that are benefitting. So, what has happened is that some of our farmers have now been excluded from markets that they were accustomed to in some of these big operations because there is an import substitution that is coming into the country and putting pressure on their operations.”

Williams said the time has come for pig farmers and poultry producers and stakeholders to come together to make representation to the Ministry of Agriculture to resolve this issue which has already begun to have a negative effect on the overall viability of the industry. (anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)