The Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) has called for the state-owned Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) to become the sole importer of both raw and processed poultry products, amid growing concerns about competition from Jamaica.
BAS Chief Executive Officer James Paul said poultry farmers are struggling to sell their products, as imports of breaded poultry wings from CARICOM member state Jamaica increasingly dominate the domestic market. He expressed concern about the impact of these imports, warning that they are putting Barbadian farmers at a significant disadvantage. The BAS head also raised concerns about potential unfair trade practices.
“The BAS has an issue in relation to products coming out of Jamaica—breaded poultry products . . . and it is increasing,” Paul told reporters at the BAS headquarters on Tuesday. “From what we understand from our chicken producers here, it is having some impact. We are seeing an aggression on the part of Jamaican producers to get their product into this market and it is coming in free of duty. But here it is that we have a processed product coming in and there is no regulation as far as that is concerned.”
He argued that the BADMC, which already regulates the import of raw poultry under World Trade Organisation (WTO) guidelines, should be empowered to regulate processed poultry products as well.
“This would ensure that Barbadian farmers are not disadvantaged,” Paul declared, adding that the current situation is forcing domestic producers to compete under unfair conditions.
While declaring support for CARICOM trade, Paul described the current level of importation from Jamaica as unfair. Jamaican producers benefit from lower production costs due to lower wages, allowing them to sell their products more competitively here, he added.
The BAS chief said: “This is not fair in many cases. Jamaicans have a low cost of production because they pay lower wages than us. And at the same time, they are getting an increased amount of their product into the market in Barbados,” Paul said.
“It is causing some issues, especially at a time . . . when small producers expressed that they had to store poultry meat they were not able to sell. Even our larger producers have seen, in some cases, a measure of substitution. The sales of regular (raw) chicken have been put under pressure.”
Paul revealed that it was the BADMC itself that initially invited the Jamaican company to do business in Barbados several years ago, a move he now suggests has worsened the situation for domestic producers.
“What we see is that they have created a problem now . . . in which the market of the local producers has been further diminished,” the chief farmers’ spokesman said.
He called on businesses to collaborate with farmers to create new offerings and market their products more creatively, noting that exporting local poultry products to Jamaica has been a challenge.
Paul urged the government to empower the BADMC to take on full responsibility for all poultry imports, both raw and processed, in order to regulate what enters the island.
“The same way we are protected when it comes to raw products, we are asking the government to look at the issue of this processed product that is coming in and the impact it is having on the local market,” he said. “It has been going on for some time but we are seeing a greater aggression on the part of the importer (retail outlet) to bring in more of this product.”
While Paul acknowledged that some may argue this approach contradicts free trade, he pointed to Canada as an example of a larger country with a managed system for poultry imports, suggesting that Barbados could adopt a similar model.
“I can’t see why any local business would fault that . . . . So what we are asking for is that BADMC be given the status fully to be the sole importer of poultry,” the BAS chief said.
“We believe that in order for our local production to not be compromised, the BADMC should be regulating all the imports [whether raw or breaded].”
Paul also noted that high production costs and competition from raw imports have discouraged local farmers from investing in processing their meat products, as they fear the venture would not be viable.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
