Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has made a commitment to have his Government look into the 70-year-old law which restricts Guyana from transshipping honey exports through Trinidad and Tobago (T&T).
In February 2015, Trinidad and Tobago fined La Parkan US$3,000 for facilitating the movement of honey within one mile of Trinidad and Tobago’s shores.
There have been other instances where countries like Grenada have encountered the same issues, but nothing has since been done to correct this issue.
However, Rowley has given his assurance that the matter will be addressed by his Government.
He was at the time speaking during the signing of the MoU between the two countries for cooperation in the oil and gas sector that was conducted at State House on Wednesday.
“That matter , I thought was a Grenada issue, I didn’t realize that it was Guyanese issue as well. But we did discuss it this morning and the Minister of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs have agreed that we would look at it without talking out of term” Rowley revealed.
The Trinidadian Prime Minister said that once his country is satisfied that there are no sanitary and phytosanitary risks, they will look at it at finding a solution.
“But we will be guided by the technical outcome. The last time we raised this matter at CARICOM, we agreed that the CARICOM protocol having been checked should prevail and Trinidad and Tobago will adhere to the protocol” he explained.
CARICOM Heads of Government have deliberated on the issue, and it is now left for the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament to enact legislation to facilitate the movement.
Although the issue also affects Grenada, Guyana has led the charge to have the issue resolved because that country is losing vital foreign exchange because its honey exports must pass through Trinidad.
