CEO of Caroni Green Ltd (CGL) Sharma Lalla is suggesting hot peppers as an export crop than can make a significant contribution to foreign exchange earnings.
During a tour of CGL’s Mon Jaloux Estate at Cunupia by regional representatives from Caribbean Chemical Ltd, Lalla said the company exported more than US$100,000 in hot peppers to the United States in the last quarter of 2015 and is currently selling US$20,000 worth of the crop weekly at the company’s 30 acre facility which is operated by just 35 employees.
Lalla said T&T currently imports millions of dollars in pepper mash annually from Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic and this is one area in which foreign exchange could be saved once local production increases.
He said CGL has become the largest producer of hot peppers in T&T just over one year after start-up. The commenced commercial operations in September 2014 and the majority of the hot peppers it produces is exported to North American markets, making the company significant generator of foreign exchange in the local agricultural sector.
The company also sells some of its produce to local agro processors for conversion to pepper mash and has received commendations from exporters as well as purchasers in North America about the quality of its hot peppers.
“CGL’s success in this project has also provided a tried and proven solution to the long-standing problem of unreliability of supply which has hindered the country’s ability to sustain a presence in the agricultural export sector,” he said.
Lalla said if CGL gets the go ahead to produce on 1,000 acres of land it could earn approximately US$400 million in foreign exchange annually at the current price of UDS$1 a pound. He said CGL has cemented a relationship with the National Agricultural Marketing Development Corporation (Namdevco) for certification of its farms in accordance and certification of its produce to meet export requirements. The company has also established an agreement with the PCS Nitrogen Model Farm for training of farmers to ensure crop production meets with international standards.
CGL is formalising a relationship with the University of the West Indies (UWI) Faculty of Food and Agriculture, with the expectation of benefitting from the university’s recent agricultural innovation through the launch of the first phase of the UWI/China Agricultural University (CAU) Agricultural Innovation Park (AIP), a 200 acre farm at Orange Grove, Trincity.
The company has been recognised as a major point of contact for InvesTT with respect to investor interest in agribusiness in T&T. Recently, a group of investors from Australia met with CGL and InvesTT to explore prospects for agribusiness development.
There are plans to rapidly expand hot pepper cultivation by engaging farmers to become the primary producers using the model developed by the company which will continue its developmental role of establishing commercial farms for a wider range of agricultural produce.