IMPORTERS ARE CONCEALING data on foreign produce, distorting the market and threatening the future of local farmers, it was claimed yesterday.
James Paul, chief executive officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society, made the charge after Constant Plantation in St George reported being saddled with hundreds of tonnes of unsold pumpkins that a spokesperson blamed on imports during October and November, when the orange-yellow fruit was in great demand for conkies.
Paul wants more transparency in the importation process and a readily available database of commodities landing here.
“Before, we had a way of checking to ensure what commodities were actually coming into the country,” he told the DAILY NATION, “but it seems to me that people have resorted now to hiding this information or the information comes in after the fact. (MB)
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