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Antigua and Barbuda is moving to import fruits, vegetables, and other food items from Guyana in a bid to reduce supermarket prices and strengthen regional food security.
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Director General of Communications Maurice Merchant said during Thursday’s post-Cabinet press briefing that the initiative follows discussions between Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali on the sidelines of the COP30 meeting in Belize.
He explained that the Cabinet has mandated Minister of Agriculture Anthony Smith Jr. to coordinate with his counterpart in Georgetown to begin sourcing agricultural products for the Antiguan market.
“The aim is to secure cheaper fruits and vegetables and other food items at a cheaper rate,” Merchant said, noting that nearly 90 percent of Antigua and Barbuda’s imported foods currently come from North America.
“The Prime Minister wants Antigua and Barbuda to capitalize on the cheap fruits and vegetables and other food items of the same high quality as those imported from North America.”
Merchant said the move is expected to help maintain low food prices once the suspension of the Common External Tariff (CET) on essential items ends. He added that the initiative aligns with the government’s broader cost-of-living plan and will ensure that local consumers continue to benefit from affordable imports.
Cabinet officials anticipate that once logistics and trade arrangements are finalized, the first shipments from Guyana could help ease prices on supermarket shelves in early 2026.
The partnership is also seen as a step toward achieving CARICOM’s 25 by 2025 goal — a regional target to cut food import bills by 25 percent — and to build closer agricultural ties within the Caribbean Community.
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The PM ought to know that importing from Guyana is the same as importing from US. Given the massive US investment in Guyana, Guyana is effectively a US colony and is likely to implement US engineered policies..
Have you heard a whisper out of Guyana stating the Caribbean should remain a zone of peace? Nothing silence
Mr PM look to OECS countries like Guadalupe, St Vincent, St Lucia, St Maarten,
This doesn’t sound good ” cheaper food” what we will be consuming is good for our health? Because a lot a food products that are sold in the independent Caribbean countries can’t enter the British virgin islands and st Thomas and Puerto Rico.
The onliest how it would be cheaper is if it’s on health effect from been non GMO so it reduces any health issues.
Wasn’t it the same Gaston destroyed the dunbars laboratory on friars Hill road with all it’s nursery plants?
Is he confused or something or he is crating a middle man importation business for family and friends?
Nothing is done by ALP and Gaston without ulterior motives.
All me know dem people that love cuss Guyanese sall lol…How y’all ga eat widout we?
CARICOM have now for decades talked about the need to import agriculture produce from the south. Meaning Guyana and Surinam. However there are no shipping lines that are available to bring the goods here. Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana were in talks to start their own shipping line. And I believe Barbados was to join. CARICOM cannot effectively trade with one another if there is no shipping line. Remember Crowley already pulled out of the Eastern Caribbean. We have build a new port but the ships are still not coming. And the freight cost is high because containers coming here full but have to leave empty. The same will be true for ships coming from Guyana. And where will they get the containers from. I mean these talks are just sweet nothing. Not too long ago they were suppose to source products from Columbia. What happened that that idea? CARICOM needs to invest in their own shipping line and each Island will have to pay their fair share. That is exactly how LIAT was suppose to work, but not everyone wanted to pay in. Well in that case nothing will ever happen.
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