CARICOM member states are being urged to produce more value-added poultry products, as just US$1 million worth currently comes from within the region.

Shaun Baugh, programme manager for agriculture and agro-industrial development at the Caricom Secretariat in Guyana, says the region has both the market demand and the need for value-added poultry. Caricom, he adds, will be implementing changes to support this shift, in line with its 25 by 25 initiative, now extended to 2030, which aims to reduce the region’s food import bill by 25 per cent.

“We’ve realised there’s a projected demand and a growth in demand for the poultry products for the Latin America and the Caribbean region to just around 58 million tonnes, around $198 billion by 2030,” said Baugh, during the Caribbean Poultry Association’s (CPA) 25th anniversary conference.

There has been a notable increase in demand for chicken nuggets, chicken sausages, chicken wings, pre-cooked and marinated chicken, and cold cuts, creating new opportunities for regional producers, according to data observed by Caricom. This trend is linked to the characteristics of regional economies, with Caricom projecting a 2 to 5 per cent growth in visitor and tourist arrivals. As tourism expands, some visitors will seek authentic Caribbean flavours, while others will prefer familiar tastes, both of which increase the demand for poultry products. At the same time, the region’s gastronomy sector is evolving, with projected revenue growth of 7.4 per cent.

“If you go across the region, you’ll see a lot of bars and lounges, cafes, bistros, and the choice food that they want is the value added. So you have chicken wraps, chicken, boneless chicken, breast, not chicken breast, chicken wings and a whole host of value-added items. So we’ve seen the growth in the gastronomy sector for that,” he noted.

With demand surging for value-added poultry, Baugh says this presents a clear opportunity to strengthen regional food security. Additional data from Caricom revealed that Antigua, Grenada, Jamaica, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and St Vincent and the Grenadines recorded the highest purchasing volumes for value-added poultry. Yet, despite the growing demand, 70 per cent of the poultry consumed in the region is imported from the United States, followed by Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Just 6 per cent comes from the rest of the world, leaving intra-regional trade at a mere 1 per cent.

“Poultry is listed as a priority commodity. This is regional policy,” said Baugh. “The heads of government, in their wisdom, have decided that they will prioritise the Caribbean agri-food systems.”

Caricom adopted the 25 by 2025 plan to reduce the region’s food import bill by 25 per cent. This initiative is a coordinated partnership between the private sector, farmers, civil society, and member states, aiming to improve intra-regional trade and drive economic development. To support this, a special ministerial task force on food production and food security has been created to guide implementation. In terms of trade, Caricom is working to revise the common external tariff (CET), a policy-level intervention to facilitate smoother movement of goods within the region. Working with the Chartered Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), Caricom has mapped out high-potential sectors for investment, including poultry and tabled eggs, valued at US$320 million in regional opportunity. Significant investments are already underway in countries like Jamaica, Belize, Guyana, and Suriname to scale up local poultry farming and processing.

“Instead of importing, we can create employment here, we can keep foreign exchange in the region, and reduce our food import dependency,” Baugh said.