MAJOR stakeholders in the Caribbean agricultural industry are now meeting at a conference on organics and fairtrade organised by the British foreign office to identify new opportunities for Caribbean producers.

Charles the Prince of Wales was scheduled to deliver the keynote address to the more than 200 delegates that include producers, representatives from UK supermarkets, government ministers, academics, journalists and others attending.

The conference, being held at Lancaster House, will explore opportunities for exploiting the niche organics and fairtrade markets in Britain and the EU. It follows the European Union’s (EU’s) deal on bananas with the US and Ecuador, and the Cotonou agreement between the EU and the Caribbean, both of which are likely to have an effect on traditional agricultural imports from the Caribbean.

Speakers come from a variety of organisations with an interest in organic farming and fairtrade. Bernard Cornibert, the Windward Islands Banana Development Company (WIBDECo) chairman, will explain the problems facing the banana industry in the Caribbean. The Guyanese minister of agriculture, Satyadeo Sawh and Dr Patrick Chesney, head of the Guyana Agricultural Research Institute, will highlight what can be done, showcasing the success of an organic cocoa project among Amerindian farmers.

“I am delighted with the overwhelming response to the seminar,” said Baroness Amos, the government minister with responsibility for the Caribbean. “This demonstrates the important relationship between the UK and the Caribbean. The seminar meets a real need.”

Baroness Symons, who was scheduled to open the conference, added: “The British Government is determined to help where we can and the end of the old preferential market access arrangements could also spell a new beginning. It is important that the private sector takes a lead in the discussions. Supermarkets, such as Sainsbury’s and Waltrose and the Co-op, have much to contribute since they understand best what the consumer wants.”