Guyana is looking to tap into the lucrative halal food industry, boosting the production quality of halal meat locally with the help of the middle east. This was announced by President Dr. Irfaan Ali, during an engagement with youths in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).
On Tuesday, President Ali met with youths in the region at the Park Square Fun City Recreation Centre in Mahaicony to discuss opportunities in agriculture. One such opportunity is the halal meat industry, with President Ali announcing that the middle east is providing assistance to the government in developing certifications for this industry, all while they work on securing niche markets.
“We’re working with the Middle East, because we want to set up a halal industry certification programme. So, we’ll have a specialised market, a niche market. But even for our local markets now. So, we have the storage we’re working to have. The value added, that is the sausages, meat balls. Having the meatballs prepared and frozen, all of that. Newer, higher value market. So, the offtake is there,” President Ali further said.
Another area Guyana is getting foreign assistance in, is the production of prawn. According to the president, Indonesian specialists are already in Guyana assisting with a prawn production facility.
Ali also explained that storage facilities are being developed in all the regions, which will ensure that produce does not go to waste. That being said, the Head of State noted that the demand for certain goods have been outstripping production.
“For example, broiler meat. If you look at broiler meat, in 2022 and 2023, almost 252,000 metric tonnes was the demand in the region. That’s a market of about US$457 million,” the head of state explained.
President Ali also issued a warning that price gouging will not be tolerated, as more farmers benefit from the opportunities created by government investments. He emphasised that a fair pricing system will be established to maintain stable prices and ensure the sustainability of efforts to promote agri-businesses.
