The food and beverage industry has been identified as playing a critical role in diversifying the country from heavy energy dependency. "Seven years ago the Government took into consideration the risks associated with depending solely or heavily on an energy-based industry, with energy prices being as volatile as they are, and basing it on a non-renewable resource," Food And Beverage Industry Development Committee (FBIDC) chairman Meghnath Gosein disclosed. "It identified six industries for development as part of a diversification exercise.
"The food and beverage industry is one of the industries identified as being critical to the diversification process for T&T." He was speaking to entrepreneurs at the FBIDC's programme titled Doing Business in Latin and Central America, Opportunities and Challenges, at Courtyard by Marriott, Invaders Bay, Port-of-Spain, on September 27."If we did not recognise the need for diversification several years ago, surely oil prices of $80 per barrel will tell us that it is sooner rather than later that we would not be able to depend on the energy industry to drive the development process in T&T," Gosein said.
"Outside of the energy-based industries the food and beverage industry is already a critical part of the economy in terms of its foreign exchange earnings, its employment generation, and its contribution to gross domestic product." He said the manufacturing sector was operating at less than 70 per cent of its capacity. "If we are to drive the production in the food and beverage sector higher and to the desired limits we need to embark on new and emerging markets," Gosein said. "If we want to enter the playing field of the virtually untapped 40 million Latin American market, we will need to learn the rules of the game such as the legal aspects, language, culture and regulations."
He said while T&T was exploring new markets, it could not abandon existing markets in the Caribbean, US and Europe. (Charles Kong Soo)