The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The benefits of an enhanced food safety regime “far outweigh” the implementation costs, a Cabinet Minister believing it could ultimately result in “significant” consumer savings.

Ryan Pinder, minister of financial services, told Tribune Business that Bahamian food producers would be unable to tap into the five million-plus tourist market without a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) regime.

If such product testing was in place, Mr Pinder suggested it would not only unlock the hotel/restaurant supply chain for Bahamian food producers, but in doing so allow the agriculture industry to gain the necessary “economies of scale” that would ultimately see it become an exporter.

And he added that an SPS testing regime would also enable the Bahamas to direct import agricultural products from its Caribbean neighbours, rather than route them through the US - as is currently the case.

This, Mr Pinder suggested, could reduce shipping costs and potentially cut the price of some Caribbean food imports by up to 50 per cent.

The Minister also dismissed concerns that the Bahamas’ trade commitments would simply increase the bureaucracy and red tape faced by the private sector, plus result in increased taxes to pay for it.

He told this newspaper that the Government was “actively pursuing” grant funding from the likes of Canada and the European Union (EU) to pay for the infrastructure, and technical expertise, required by SPS regimes.

The Government is set to begin consultation on a three-strong package of Bills designed to bring the Bahamas into compliance with its SPS obligations under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The Bills - the Animal Health and Production Bill, the Food Safety Bill and the Plant Protection Bill - each create a new supervisory body to oversee the specific regulatory regime they usher in.

The Animal Health and Production Bill requires the creation of a National Veterinary Service; the Food Safety Bill ushers in a Food Safety and Quality Authority; and the latter Bill calls for a National Plant Protection Organisation.

Mr Pinder said the Ministry of Agriculture had already sent technical teams into farming communities on two Family Islands to kick-start the process, prior to coming to Nassau and Freeport.

“SPS, and the regime enacted by the legislation, is of fundamental importance, and it’s particularly critical if we ever want to develop an agricultural industry in the country,” Mr Pinder told Tribune Business.

“We feel as a matter of policy that the benefits of such a regime for international trade and domestic agricultural production far outweigh whatever government infrastructure has to be put in place to make that happen.”

Noting the frequent discussions about the Bahamas’ inability to link agriculture with its hotel and tourism industry, Mr Pinder said a major factor was the quality standards imposed on resorts - and international restaurant chains - by their head offices.

Insurance requirements were another obstacle, and the Minister explained that without “proper certification and testing” procedures via an SPS regime, Bahamian food producers could not give these potential customers the quality assurances they were seeking.

“Without it it’s difficult for these large hotels and chain restaurants, especially international chain restaurants, to buy local produce,” Mr Pinder told Tribune Business.

“With SPS, this certification can happen here, providing the basis for linkages between agriculture and tourism.”

And, if a domestic Bahamian agriculture industry took off, exports might not be far behind. “The agricultural industry will have the infrastructure to grow,” Mr Pinder told Tribune Business.

“If we can use an SPS regime to build economies of scale in agriculture, your production increases domestically and producers become more efficient, resulting in cheaper produce domestically. The economics behind it suggest a significant decrease in the price of foods.”

Mr Pinder’s plan is for a sustainable domestic agriculture industry, linked to tourism, to provide an export platform in conjunction with trade liberalisation. And he is hopeful a Bahamian SPS regime could also reduce food import costs.

As an example, the Minister pointed to mangos from Haiti. As the Bahamas does not have an SPS regime currently, these have to be routed through the US, where they are tested, before being shipped to this nation.

Suggesting that this was costing Bahamian consumers $1 extra per mango, Mr Pinder said a local SPS regime would enable these products to be imported directy - cutting out such costs.

Pointing to a similar situation with the Dominican Republic’s beef industry, the Minister told Tribune Business: “Our beef products coming into the Bahamas could be high quality and lower cost if we do direct trade and have an SPS regime to certify those imports

“These things are to the consumer’s benefit, because the price of food could go down significantly through having these trade linkages.

“Any negative comments about us wanting to maintain an SPS regime to be consistent with international best practices are misplaced. The increase in commercial activity will certainly pay for it. Every international country has these laws for consumer protection, and consumers will gain as a result.”

Mr Pinder said increased agricultural production, and exports, would result in rising government revenues - as all economic growth does. And the Bahamas was chasing grant funding to pay for the technical assistance and infrastructure, such as testing laboratories, that an SPS regime demands.

Mr Pinder said the Government was in talks with the EU, and had raised the issue with Diane Ablonczy, Canada’s minister of state for foreign affairs, during here recent Nassau visit. The Bahamas is also talking to other Caribbean countries, either seeking to implement or upgrade their SPS regimes, about making a collective application for funding.

“We don’t always have to borrow the money or tax Bahamians to pay for such infrastructure,” Mr Pinder said. “We can achieve it through the trade development assistance available.

“The Bahamian people have to trust that the Bahamian government is looking out for their best interests, and is looking to international assistance for relatively expensive infrastructure projects to be completed.

“We’re being very creative, efficient and effective in sourcing the development infrastructure required.”