Dominica manufacturer: Stronger regional trade tackles Caribbean food insecurity

A Dominican food processor has called for deeper regional collaboration to boost intra-Caribbean trade and tackle the region’s chronic food insecurity, warning that the Caribbean’s reliance on imports remains unsustainable.

Managing Director of Benjo’s Seamoss and Agro-Processing Co Ltd, John Robin,  former president of the Dominica Manufacturers Association, welcomed Dominica’s participation in this year’s Barbados Manufacturers’ Association Trade and Innovation Expo, and emphasised the importance of strengthening trade ties across the region.

On the final day of the expo on Monday, Robin told Barbados TODAY he was satisfied with Dominica’s participation and highlighted the value of collaboration.

“I thought it would be nice that Dominica would come here because we are seeking to do something similar and then in the years to come, and I think there’s no better way to do it but to work with Barbados,” he said.

Robin and his team are also set to attend a trade show in Trinidad in July. He explained that the aim of participating in these events is to inspire young manufacturers to look beyond their domestic markets.

“The whole idea is to stimulate the young minds, the young manufacturers, you know, to instead of thinking domestically within their own local jurisdiction,” he said. “Dominica, for example, has a population of about 70 000, but CARICOM has roughly 16 million people. We need to start thinking about exports, scaling up, and tapping into the benefits of economies of scale.”

Fostering regional solidarity and mutual training is key to achieving this goal,” said Robin. “He pointed out the stark contrast between CARICOM and other global regions in terms of intra-regional trade.

“What we see is that in Europe, North America, and most of Asia, intra-regional trading among themselves, it’s like about 70 per cent, but in CARICOM it’s less than 15 per cent – which is very low. Which means we need to produce more of what we eat and we need to consume more of what we produce.”

He cited research by the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Council that approximately 80 per cent of food consumed in the region is imported, despite CARICOM’s capacity to produce more locally.

“It says that 80 per cent of what we consume here, especially the food, is imported, whereas we have the capacity to, you know, change that,” Robin said. “Also, we want to make contacts so we can export extra-regionally and internationally through these mediums of these trade shows.”

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report 2023, the Caribbean has one of the highest levels of food insecurity globally. The report estimated that 58.8 per cent of the population – around 28.6 million people – experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2023. While this was a slight improvement from 60.5 per cent in 2022, it remains more than double the global average of 28.9 per cent. This level of food insecurity is comparable to the African continent, which recorded 58 per cent in 2023, with some sub-regions of sub-Saharan Africa reaching as high as 77.7 per cent. (SB)