International Food Science Centre a boon for exporters

Local producers and manufacturers of condiments and sauces are already reaping benefits from taking their goods to the International Food Science Centre (IFSC) for processing.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Investment Development Corporation Andrea Burgess said as an Export Barbados initiative, the IFSC, which was opened last November, is proving instrumental in creating ready-for-export products that were already being shipped overseas.

“We recently had our first product that was produced specifically for export into the UK market. It was over 200 cases of pepper sauce for a supplier here in Barbados that we were able to produce, in just two days, to the manufacturer’s specifications. So we were very excited about that because the facility was only opened on the 28th of November last year. So, in short order, we have been able to fulfill our mandate and from here we just plan to expand and to scale up,” she stated.

Currently, over 50 companies have signed up to use the facility to manufacture and export their product to regional and international markets.

“It’s a one-stop shop for the producers and manufacturers of condiments and sauces, and it is a model that we expect to roll out across our industrial estates to serve a wide variety of industry needs. The response has been wonderful so far, because it really is filling a need that was there. So we have found that there is high demand for the service, and through this demand, we’re also uncovering new areas where we can support exporters,” she told reporters at Agrofest on Saturday morning.

Export Barbados is hosting three booths at the agricultural exhibit: two booths on the IFSC and one on the Bridgetown Gold Exchange Exhibit.

Speaking to the media at the Queen’s Park Steel Shed where the latter is being held, she said that a gold hub will soon be established in Bridgetown for the sale and promotion of this metal. She noted that the display, now in its second year, is through a strategic alliance between Barbados and Guyana.

“The gold is mined in Guyana and the jewelers that you see here actually made this jewelry themselves at their facilities in Guyana, and they’ve brought it here on display. The part that Barbados would play is that we would leverage our diaspora. We would leverage our administrative and financial services and our advancement in that area in order to promote the gold. So very soon in the future, we expect to establish a gold hub in the Bridgetown area for the sale or the promotion of this gold, but from Barbadian shores,” Burgess added.