Guyana says it is looking towards Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and the Eastern Caribbean to help deal with a glut in the local fish market resulting in fisherfolk here unable to meet their expenses.
Agriculture Minister Zulifikar Mustapha said that he held discussions with officials attending the just-concluded meeting of Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on the matter.
“I have spoken to them and we are looking to find markets for your catches in places like Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Eastern Caribbean countries so not only we are trying to give you the tools to catch more fishes but we are ensuring that we work with you that we find market for your produce,” Mustapha told a ceremony to mark National Fisherfolk Day 2023.
Chairman of the Guyana National Fisherfolk Organisation, Parmeshwar Jainarine told the ceremony that falling fish prices were seriously affecting his members.
“We have seen a sharp, sharp decline in the prices of our catch. Fish prices have gone down by more than 70 per cent and the expenses have remained the same. Many of the boats in the Berbice area are not fishing because it cannot pay them to work,” he said.
Jainarine has complained of a “glut in the market” and that the solution is for more fish processing plants to be established here given that the country only has two major processors.
“If these two processors’ markets are filled then other persons would be able to purchase so that the price could remain stable so that we can make a money,” he said.
The fisheries sector accounts for three per cent of Guyana’s agriculture gross domestic product (GDP) and GUY$11.9 billion (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) worth of exports.
Last year, Guyana produced more than 33,500 metric tonnes of seafood.
