Agriculture Minister Alfred Prospere has explained that Saint Lucia diverted banana shipments to Trinidad and Tobago after trade with the United Kingdom was suspended.
Prospere recently announced the UK trade suspension, citing significant economic viability challenges.
However, on Monday, he told reporters on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting of his concern that what was making the rounds was that the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) and he as Minister had killed bananas.
“But they never said the important part of my statement, which was as soon as this decision was taken, the very same quantity of bananas was diverted to Trinidad and Tobago,” Prospere noted.
According to the Minister, the UK trade suspension did not negatively impact local farmers.
“We are still exporting those 1000 boxes to Trinidad,” Prospere observed.
And he disclosed that the NFTO is working with a supplier in Trinidad & Tobago to ship 3,000 additional boxes of Saint Lucia bananas to the twin-Island Republic.
Nevertheless, Prospere explained that Saint Lucia did not yet have those bananas available.
“The point I am making is that we are not in a situation where the thousand boxes that were going to the UK are at a halt because our farmers would be in a position where their fruits would be hanging. Their fruits are still being harvested and they are being exported,” he told reporters.
“So I want to make it clear to the public that the situation that existed where we had to suspend exports to the UK, those fruits are now being exported to Trinidad and Tobago,” the Minister stated.
He also revealed that he spoke with a buyer in St. Thomas interested in bananas and plantains, avocadoes, citrus, and other crops.
“We are doing well so far,” Prospere told reporters.
But he said he was not too happy with the UK trade suspension as farmers were getting more for their fruit in the UK compared to the region.
At the same time, Prospere asserted that the region has tremendous potential.
In this regard, the Agriculture Minister believes Saint Lucian farmers will continue to make money once they can export their bananas to the region.
Headline photo: Alfred Prospere (Stock image)
How many boxes of bananas did the UWP send to France again?
How many passports did the UWP sell to assist banana farmers?
From the 863 million dollars the UWP borrowed, how did they assist the farmers during their reign?
so you telling me of all the banana farmers we have in saint lucia and how vast some farmers have their fields with plenty fruit that 1000 to 3000 boxes what money the farmers are getting from that? that means only a hand full of farmers can send banana while the rest either have to be sold locally which is still a limited quantity and the majority spoilt. smdh if i remember clearly Dominic Fedee had this idea also to divert the banana to another Caribbean country and you guys said endless of things now you sending it to Trinidad you dont want people to say things? this is the same situation i am seeing for the both of you. yall dont see the size of the fields in Roseau? one farm can deliver 1000 boxes so what so much is 1000 boxes? chewps
Better than nothing at all. Those yellow Clowns need to remain quiet because they know what they did all one has to do is google it from The London Times
you should eat more bananas Instead of apples. and maybe you can do something to help and stop being negative
pierre told us to eat mroe fig. So we eating more fig. They eating steak btw.
Lucian high-grade you should be ashamed to be a supporter of the slp..my God are you leaving in st lucia gosh man stop embarrassing yourself on social media..pjp administration is the worst so far
I wonder what is the difference between the 2 exchange rate? Pound and TT dollars for the 1000 boxes of bananas. Curtis was shipping 1000 boxes to Trinidad before and couldn’t pay his suppliers of bananas. Nusa knows that,
Not very often i agree with you The Most Honorable Lucian Highgrade
so yes it’s DEFINITELY better than nothing.
Enough about dieing bananas, why are we not focused on cocoa beans, passion fruits and other fruits instead? Why can’t we forget about fruit export and focus more on Agro Processing instead? Backwards country I tell you!
You kill bananas the same way you kill the business at the Mandele Dennery View Point with the hard rent you put on the vendors during these hard times. The vendors are not able to make money but that is your plan to frustrate them so your friends and council chairman friends can takeover the booths when they leave. You and your bullies on the council are squeezing the people in Dennery south
Man you are a failure. You destroy the business at the Denney view point charging so much rent on something that was given to the people by the EU. 700 a month for a booth in these hard times…….SMH. You are forcing the people out of business and then to say Dennery people like hand outs. Your council is another failure…….these people have no mind for business and are just there to intimidate the vendors at the view point and at the fish fiesta.
Man you are a failure. You destroy the business at the Denney view point charging so much rent on something that was given to the people by the EU. 700 a month for a booth in these hard times…….SMH. You are forcing the people out of business and then to say Dennery people like hand outs. Your council is another failure…….these people have no mind for business and are just there to intimidate the vendors at the view point and at the fish fiesta.
Propere could it have been the poor quality of bananas as well that had the UK suspend the importation?Lately the bananas were not looking good on the local markets.
Mr. Minister, have you not read what the Vincentians farmers are going through with the Trinidadians supermarkets and provision importers? …..We are being thrown under the cart.
Wether one or either the other,it is not too late to reforme the SLBGA back on track !!
….. The Saint lucia Labour party destroyed the whole of lucia and the reputation. They sold st. Lucia to the devil now crime and murder is an everyday lifestyle. PjP i feel sorry for you because it is ypur administration bringing you down.
Perhaps the banana minister should visit the UK again with a delagation of 30 including his personal bodyguard and renegotiate a $100000 deal for the farmers …while spending $200000 on his trip ….