English 
Official Press Release: CPSO Press Statement – The CPSO applauds the announcement by H.E. President Irfaan Ali, of the reduction in the interest rate for poultry farmers, as a significant step toward achieving CARICOM’s 25% x 2025
The CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) applauds the announcement by H.E. Dr. Mohammed
Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, of the reduction in the cost of financing
among other measures extended to poultry farmers in Guyana. Poultry meat is among the nineteen (19)
agri-food opportunities highlighted in the Region’s Twenty-Five by Twenty-Five (25% x 2025) goals for
extra-regional import displacement, endorsed by the CARICOM Heads of Government (CHoGs). This
initiative, announced by President Ali, properly addresses the critical issues of the ‘cost of finance’ and the
‘cost of feed’, which have been two major concerns of farmers and processors, in Guyana and across the
Community. Measures to increase rice, corn, and soy production as key inputs to poultry feed, were
among the interventions announced by President Ali.
According to the analytical work undertaken by the CPSO, the CARICOM poultry industry, including in
Guyana, can potentially displace extra-regional imports of poultry meat into CARICOM markets valued at
US $149.0 million per year. Successful import displacement will require urgent domestic policy reforms,
inter alia, reducing the cost of capital and reliable access to feed at stable prices. The initiatives announced
by President Ali are therefore concrete steps towards meeting these requirements.
In addition to much needed domestic policy support, the most critical ‘policy shift’ that remains is for
CARICOM Member States to create or allow the emergence of a ‘genuine single regional market’ for
poultry meat, that provides equal market access by all poultry meat producers to all CSME markets.
Relative comparisons of the market access for poultry meat imports into CARICOM Member States
demonstrate wide variations in the Common External Tariff (CET) and market access. According to the
CPSO’s work, such variations in the import market access among Member States, highlight the scope for
the possible introduction of a CARICOM-wide Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) regime, underpinned by a
harmonized CET, the removal of remaining Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), adherence to the CARICOM Poultry
Standard and a CARICOM Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary (SPS) regime. According to initial work by the CPSO,
under these conditions, if CARICOM Members introduced a TRQ regime for poultry meat, intra-regional
imports could substantially displace imports from extra-regional sources.
The announcement by President Ali of interest rate reductions to poultry farmers and expansion in crop
production as an adjunct to poultry feed, positions Guyana and other CARICOM producers to potentially
become ‘net exporters’ of poultry meat to CARICOM markets within the construct of a harmonized
CARICOM single market for poultry meat. Instructively, Guyana, along with Belize, already maintains low
levels of poultry meat imports.
Having regard to the difficult food insecurity situation confronting 57% of CARICOM populations, and the
increasingly challenging global food supply situation, the CPSO praises the timeliness of the
announcement by President Ali, as an infusion of much-needed confidence to CARICOM agri-food systems.
In endorsing the significance of the announcement by President Ali as Lead Head with responsibility for
Agriculture, the CPSO recognizes the acceleration in the pace of extra-regional import displacement that
could occur, if other CARICOM Member States introduce similar measures in accordance with their
financial circumstances. The initiatives announced for Guyana, can also spur closer collaboration and
‘scaling-up’ among the regional poultry industry, particularly, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, and
Trinidad and Tobago, among others.
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ABOUT THE CPSO
The CARICOM Private Sector Organization (CPSO) is the most recently accredited Associate Institution
of the Caribbean Community. The CPSO is a ‘Service Organization’ to mobilize and advance private
sector participation in CARICOM, with a mandate to contribute to the full implementation of the
CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). The Membership of the CPSO is comprised of private
sector entities operating in the CARICOM space, including Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
(MSMEs).
For further information, please contact: CPSO Secretariat at: info@infothecpso-org
