CEDA: Costly shipping, inefficient logistics hurting regional food trade

WESTERN BUREAU:

The region’s push to boost food and agricultural exports is being held back by high shipping costs, inefficient logistics and fragmented sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements, according to the CEO of the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA).

CEDA head Dr Damie Sinanan said the current shipping system makes it expensive and inefficient to move food between Caribbean territories, with some shipments requiring goods to be routed through Panama, Jamaica, or Miami in the United States before reaching neighbouring markets.

“We have a very thin hub-dependent shipping,” Sinanan told a plenary session on ‘Practical Building Blocks for Export Expansion’ on the final day of the 20th Caribbean Week of Agriculture in Trelawny.

Sinanan said small one-way shipment volumes also drive up costs, with containers often travelling full in one direction and returning empty while exporters still pay the same freight costs.

He also cited limited cold-storage capacity, competition for available space, difficulties handling perishables, border friction, and climate shocks as major threats to the region’s food supply chains.

But transportation is only one of the barriers. Sinanan said fragmented SPS systems across CARICOM are creating additional hurdles for businesses seeking to enter regional and international markets. He pointed to multiple agencies, outdated legislation, weak enforcement, and inadequate financing, arguing that the absence of a common regional SPS code creates confusion and increases the cost of compliance for exporters.

Private certification schemes, he said, are adding further expenses through audits and other requirements, placing smaller businesses at a particular disadvantage.

Sinanan proposed implementation of 10 regional SPS standards, along with a shared network of accredited laboratories so exporters can test their products within the Caribbean rather than sending samples to the United States.

He also called for group certification, export-anchored supply schemes, shared packhouses and cold rooms to reduce compliance and operational costs.

The warning comes as the region becomes increasingly dependent on imported food and agricultural products. Sinanan said agricultural imports have surpassed US$5 billion, while exports contracted by seven per cent in 2025 after reaching a peak the previous year.

He said the region must also move beyond primary commodities and low-value processed products, noting that value-added agri-food products account for just 8.1 per cent of total exports.

Sinanan identified agri-tech, nutraceuticals and higher-value food processing as potential areas for expansion, while urging Caribbean businesses to pursue markets in Latin America, North America and Europe.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com