BAS: Farmers suffering

James Paul chief executive officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society. (FP)

Fri, August 03, 2012 - 12:07 AM

The Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) has charged that items such as pork, milk, fruits and vegetables, are being imported into the island “through the back door” and will have an effect on jobs in the sector.

At a Press conference yesterday, BAS president James Paul said the time had come for Government to intervene as local farmers were suffering major losses when their produce has to compete with “certain fast-food chains”.

“We have been noticing over the last two years or so, where importers in this country have been finding ways to see if they can bring products through the back door to compete with locally produced agricultural commodities.

“What we have witnessed since the entry of some of these fast-food chains into Barbados, is that instead of arranging for the sourcing of their products locally from farmers, is a complete reliance in some cases on international suppliers for the product, even in cases where our local farmers have the ability to produce these goods,” he said. (MK)

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