Call for Caribbean agriculture to focus on differentiated product markets
23 April 2012
Leaders in the Caribbean food and agricultural products sector have called for a greater focus on meeting the ‘demands from niche markets around the world’, by producing ‘differentiated product offerings to sell to affluent markets’. According to Keeley Holder, Managing Director of Produce Growers Ltd, this requires developing an intimate understanding of customer needs and appropriately targeted marketing strategies. Potential markets identified by Ms Holder include markets for ginger, sweet potato and butternut squash in the UK and fresh/dry herbs in the USA.
In some areas, Caribbean countries are already significant suppliers of niche products. According to CARICOM analysis, both Belize and Jamaica are among the top ten suppliers of papaya, with Belize alone accounting for 10% of global trade. In recent years papaya exports from Guyana and Dominican Republic have also been growing strongly. However, there is growing competition from Latin American suppliers, particularly in the light of the recently concluded FTA arrangements between the EU and a range of Latin American countries.
Editorial comment
While the CARICOM Community Agricultural Policy approved in October 2011 makes no explicit reference to ‘product differentiation’, it does deal with issues related to branding and niche marketing as a strategy to ‘improve performance and share of the Caribbean’s primary and processed agricultural products on the world and regional markets’. This has been a long-standing point of policy focus in the region, with a range of success stories already apparent, often exploiting traditional knowledge and links to the EU, US and Canadian markets through the diaspora. In the post-preference era, however, the challenge is to systematically build on this experience.
As pointed out by the MD of Produce Growers Ltd, it is not enough just to identify potential niche markets – it is also necessary to develop a close understanding of customer needs and to develop targeted marketing strategies. This is particularly important since, with the EU concluding a range of FTAs with potential competitors, the field is likely to become increasingly crowded with competing companies, many of whom have the potential to gain far greater economies of scale in both production and marketing.
As highlighted by the experience in the Namibian beef sector, (see Agritrade article ‘ Quality differentiation pays off for Namibian beef farmers’, April 2012), this can be achieved even where only relatively small volumes of production are involved. The key to this is consistent quality, clear branding, and moving up the value chain to provide ‘shelf-ready’ products in line with retailer standards and requirements. While this process can be entirely led by private sector (as in Namibia), it can also benefit from pump-priming public sector support. This constitutes a potential for ‘aid for trade’ assistance, particularly in countries seeking to diversify away from traditional single-commodity dependency.
Equally, in an era of currency volatility and region-specific economic shocks, ensuring a diversity of potential markets, including regional markets (e.g. in the Caribbean, the regional tourism sector), is also a critical factor in long-term success.
