Chief Executive Officer of the National Agriculture and Research Extension Institute (NAREI) Dr Udho Homenauth says there is no ban on the importation of citrus, peppers and cabbages but noted that these items were being imported without the permission of the National Plant Protection Organization, which is a department of NAREI.
Importers have complained bitterly now that NAREI is tightening and enforcing its regulations.
“We’ve had cases where stuff have been coming into the country without the necessary certification. When we check, for example, the importers will have a list granted to them of commodities and when the containers are examined, we find additional things that were not in the list that was granted,” Dr Homenauth told the News Room during an interview Wednesday.
He explained that for each container, an importer will be issued permission to import a list of items but oftentimes, items are found in the containers for which permission was not granted.
As it relates to the importation of citrus, the Chief Executive Officer said the agency is trying to guard against the importation of ‘Citrus Greening’ –a disease called Huanglongbing –which renders the fruit inedible by making it more acidic and abnormally bitter.
“Once it gets here, it can cause so many problems for citrus production for Guyana as well,” he said.
The disease can be transmitted via the seed or any part of the citrus product.
“So if the material is infected, you would not know…only you need one plant to transmit the disease and there is no cure for it at this time except getting rid of the plant,” Dr Homenauth said.
He noted that a survey was done a year ago and samples were sent to Florida for examination which showed that the disease is not in Guyana.
Dr Homenauth said in order to import the commodity, the importers can request a pest risk analysis which is done to ensure that the fruits or vegetables are not contaminated.
He added that the Plant Protection Act of 2011 restricts the importation of commodities without a pest risk analysis and other tests.
The commodities will also need a phytosanitary certificate issued by a competent institute in the originating country of the product, valid for no more than 14 days before the entry of the commodity into Guyana, according to the Act.
Under the Act, the Plant protection agency is empowered to prohibit the import of plants, plant products and other regulated articles.
Dr Homenauth believes local farmers produce adequate commodities to supply the market, noting that farmers produce several acres of citrus from Corentyne in Region Six to Aishalton in Region nine.
In 2018, local retail and wholesale farmers produced 21,773.6 tonnes of oranges, 12,877.5 tonnes of lemons, 4, 564.4 tonnes of limes and 11,626 tonnes of tangerines.
All commodities showed an increase when compared to 2017 where 8,064.3 tonnes of oranges were produced, 12,096.5 tonnes of lemons, 3,843.2 tonnes of limes and 4,027 tonnes of tangerines were produced.
Also in 2018, 13,380.4 tonnes of cabbages were produced compared to 8,414.1 in 2017 and 21,109 tonnes of sweet peppers were produced compared to 16,956.6 in 2017.
He said if there is ever a shortage of any local commodity, the institute will issue a waiver for the importation of the item for a period of three months.
Meanwhile, following a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the Government in a statement distanced itself from the restrictions.
“These false reports were brought to the attention of Cabinet at its meeting [Tuesday] and Cabinet reiterates that it is in favour of free trade and does not wish to impede the choice of consumers on the local market,” the Government statement said.
The Government, however, noted that the importation of produce is subject to known licensing requirements and procedures of the Guyana Revenue Authority and other relevant agencies.
The Government in its statement also said it is trying to protect local farmers.
“The Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, will continue to support local farmers and seek additional overseas markets for their produce in addition to advancing the agro-processing agenda.”
