Trinidad eyes more food trade with Guyana as new ferry service starts up

A new ferry service in the Southern Caribbean will be operational in about three months and already, Trinidad and Tobago hopes to capitalise on the venture and will be increasing its trade with Guyana.

“I’m very happy to say that from an agricultural perspective, this is going to open the doors for opportunity for all of our countries in the region.

“Moreso, we are looking forward to immense trade with Guyana,” Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Avinash Singh told the News Room on Monday.

Minister Singh is part of the Trinidadian delegation in Guyana for this week’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) regional summit hosted in Georgetown.

At the sidelines of that event, the Agriculture Minister told the News Room that Trinidadian authorities, including the country’s Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, have been lobbying for a ferry service to push regional trade and the movement of people.

Part of that country’s interest in the ferry service is linked to getting agricultural produce from Guyana to feed into its (Trinidad’s) manufacturing sector.

“We have a vibrant agro-industry, feed-manufacturing sector and all of our raw materials come from extra-regional areas,” Minister Singh said, noting that the Trinidadian private sector is keen on importing from Guyana instead.

This forthcoming ferry service, in the first phase, includes Guyana, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The Galleons Passage, a vessel from the Twin Island Republic, will be used to ply the route, at least initially. Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali, February, announced that the new ferry will set sail in about three months.

Minister Singh described the ferry service as a “win-win” for Trinidad and the region. He also said the private sector buy-in for this service, and for other transportation ventures, signals both the need for such ventures and the appetite that exists to solve the region’s transportation woes.