Speaking about the vast agriculture potential of Guyana, the Ministry of Agriculture today announced that it will be constructing a number of modern abattoirs across the country with the aim of boosting the country’s beef and pork production with the long-term aim of tapping into the international market.
In announcing the construction of modern abattoirs in Guyana, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha pointed out that Guyana has been getting the attention of international investors, and as such, it will have to update its systems to remain competitive.
He was at the time speaking during an event at the Guyana Livestock Development Authority at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD).
“We have already started construction at Rising Sun at West Coast Berbice, we are looking at another one in Region Three to do slaughtering of cows there so that we can have beef production there. We are looking at a swine abattoir on the East Bank of Demerara, and these will be built at international standards where we will have them certified and try to get them ISO certification so that we can export these meats to other parts of the world,” Minister Mustapha said.
“There are big lucrative markets around the world. Imagine, countries from the Middle East are importing beef from our neighbours in Brazil, we can tap into some of those markets. That is why we are concentrating and investing in these sectors, especially the livestock sector,” he added.
The country’s Municipal Abattoir that is located on Water Street, Kingston, Georgetown, has been in existence since 1933, and has been in a deteriorative state for several years.
This abattoir processes approximately 75 percent of the meat sold on the local markets.
