Barbados, St. Maarten, Jamaica - March 2000

Prepared by: Scott Hosking, Marketing and Food Industry Development Branch
Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Marketing

Acknowledgments: The writer would like to thank Peg Cummings of the Rural Leadership Branch, Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Marketing, for her contributions to this report.

Executive Summary

The Marketing and Food Industry Development Branch led a mission to participate in Canadian Food and Beverage Showcases in Barbados, St. Maartens and Jamaica between February 20 - March 1, 2000. Over 40 Canadian exhibitors participated in the shows to explore opportunities for the sale of agri-food products in the Caribbean. A combined total of over 400 buyers attended the three shows.

Nova Scotia companies participating in the show included: Stirling Fruit Farms, Riverview Herbs, Myra Soap Works, and Scatterie Smokehouse. The Taste of Nova Scotia Quality Food Program and Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation also introduced the following products during the shows: Lavinia's preserves, Maple Ridge Farm maple products, Nova Agri onions, Classic Cheesecakes, Galloping Cows strawberry lemonade concentrate, and Bras d'Or Growers cabbage.

The mission to Barbados, St. Maartens and Jamaica was one of the most positive missions to the Caribbean in the three years the province has participated in the show. Outcomes of the trip are as follows:

1. Projected product sales resulting from participation in the Barbados, St. Maartens and Jamaica Food Shows in March 2000 are expected to reach approximately $650,000. Products included in this sales figure are apples, goat milk soap, onions, cabbage, cheesecakes and pesto.

2. Through the numerous contacts made during these shows there are opportunities to ship consolidated containers of apples, potatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, etc. Nova Scotia producers working together could increase Caribbean sales by an additional $400,000 - $1 million annually as a result of contacts developed during the Caribbean mission. A project is now underway to address the consolidation opportunities.

3. A contact was made to distribute premium value-added products to the Caribbean by a distribution company operating through air distribution. One Taste of Nova Scotia company has already signed an agreement to ship products by air to the Caribbean. The Managing Director of the Taste of Nova Scotia Quality Food program will also meet with the air distribution company to discuss additional product opportunities.

4. As a result of meetings held outside of the food show, technology opportunities were identified for the following:
   

• a water management project with the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation;
  
• Technology transfer and possible investment in a dairy processing facility in either Barbados or St. Lucia;
  
• Joint venture greenhouse production project in Barbados;
• and Supply and set-up of a greenhouse for the rbados 4-H Foundation.

Future participation in the showcases is recommended.

OVERVIEW

Showcase Statistics

The Trade Department of the Canadian High Commissions in Barbados and Jamaica hosted the Canadian Food and Beverage Showcases in Bridgetown, Barbados on February 20 and 21; in Great Bay, St. Maartens on February 23 and 24; and in Montego Bay, Jamaica on February 28 and 29, 2000.

The number of companies that sent buyers to the Barbados show was 168 and in St. Maarten 130. Jamaica figures have yet to be sent.

The breakdown of countries from which buyers originated is as follows:

Barbados
Barbados 157
Grenada 2
St. Vincent 1
St. Lucia 4
Dominica 1
Antigua 3

St. Maarten/St. Martin

St. Maarten 80
St. Martin 33
St. Vincent 3
Montserrat 1
Antigua 1
St. Kitts 4
Nevis 1
Anguilla 3
BVI 2
Martinique 2

The media coverage for both events was extensive. Television and radio interviews and press coverage existed throughout the region.

Nova Scotia's Participation

The Marketing and Food Industry Development Branch led a mission to participate in the showcases. Nova Scotia companies participating in the show included: Stirling Fruit Farms, Riverview Herbs, Myra Soap Works, and Scatterie Smokehouse. The Taste of Nova Scotia Quality Food Program and Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation also introduced the following products during the shows: Lavinia's preserves, Maple Ridge Farm maple products, Nova Agri onions, Classic Cheesecakes, Galloping Cows strawberry lemonade concentrate and Bras d'Or Growers cabbage. Forty Canadian exhibitors participated in the showcases.

Also participating in the trip was Rob MacIsaac who acted as chef for the entire contingent of Nova Scotia companies, using all Nova Scotia products continuously during the show. Rob's activities attracted numerous buyers to the Nova Scotia booths. It was a definite asset having a chef participating, and it should be considered as a standard for future major food shows.

TRIP NUGGETS

The following are "nuggets" of information collected during the mission. The points are all important but to some extent unrelated, thus they are in bullet form.

• Many Caribbean buyers prefer to deal with Canadian suppliers as opposed to American suppliers. This sentiment has increased in strength over the last several years as a result of the WTO ruling against the Caribbean-European preferential banana buying, resulting in the loss of the European market for Caribbean islands and opening the European market to the U.S produce mega-companies.
• Many Caribbean buyers are actively seeking new product lines as the markets open up. Markets for some of the imports that were previously restricted (such as dairy items, processed meats and beer) are opening up over the next few years, so buyers are actively looking for new suppliers. An example of this is meat being imported into Barbados. In April import licenses are being issued although there is still a 30% duty which will decline to 0% over the next 4 years. The time is right to be exploring the Caribbean market.
• The incidence of diabetes is unusually high in the Caribbean but there are very few product lines catering to diabetics. There is an opportunity for the introduction of diabetic product lines.
• An interesting note was the presence of Farmers Dairy bulk cheese in Barbados. This opportunity was communicated to the Nova Scotia dairy industry over three years ago as the result of an opportunity identified during one of the first missions by the Marketing and Food Industry Development Branch. It is great to see that some identified opportunities are followed up on.
• In St. Martin's (the French side) packaged Nova Scotia products may have a competitive edge because of the bilingual labeling.
• Maple Leaf Foods (although a national company this is still an interesting note) began shipping 200 cases of product to the Caribbean 9 years ago and are now shipping 150- 40 foot containers a year of not only their own product but many food items from central Canada. Carriere products from the Berwick facility are included in this.
• The food show in Montego Bay, Jamaica should have been held in Kingston, as Kingston is where 80% of the business is done in Jamaica.

PRODUCT OPPORTUNITIES AND OTHER INSIGHTS

Direct Buyer Feedback The following is direct feedback from each of the showcase locations.

Barbados

In Barbados 26 contacts were made with interest in the following:

• produce
  
• specialty produce items (baby produce)
  
• diabetic jams and foods
  
• 50-60 mL containers of jams and maple syrup for foodservice
  
• UHT milk
  
• high-end specialty items
  
• Galloping Cows lemonade

In St. Maarten 28 contacts were made with interest in the following:

• produce
  
• frozen foods
  
• fresh and frozen seafood
  
• small jams and jellies for the tourist trade

In Jamaica 18 contacts were made with interest in the following:

• cabbage, onions (50 lb. bags) and carrots
  
• snow crab, salt cod, shrimp
  
• frozen vegetables
  
• pie fillings, pastries
  
• small containers of maple syrup and jams

Nova Scotia Produce

There are substantial opportunities for the export of Nova Scotia produce to the Caribbean if a consolidation service can be developed. There is an interest in consolidated loads of items such as onions, carrots, potatoes, apples, cabbage, etc. The consolidation issue is dealt with more extensively in section Central Buying Desk Concept.

Although consolidation represents a new opportunity, full container loads of apples were in the past, and are again being, shipped to the Caribbean.

A very interesting contact was also made with an exhibitor at the show, Wayne Bravo of W.A.B. Enterprises. Mr. Bravo is an extremely successful distributor with warehouses around the world, including Europe, Cuba and one being developed for Jamaica. He sets up warehouses to eliminate the middleman and reduces costs to end purchasers. Mr. Bravo is very interested in exploring partnerships with Nova Scotia companies for warehousing of produce (and some value-added products) in the Caribbean for distribution throughout the region. This may represent another area of opportunity for products moving from Nova Scotia. It may also represent an interesting opportunity for Nova Scotia operations in Cuba because of Mr. Bravo's warehouse and distribution site on the island.

The following are a few notes on the associations and companies which had produce in the Caribbean.

Nova Scotia Fruit Growers/Stirling Fruit Farms
The Nova Scotia Fruit Growers had a very successful trip with containers of apples already moving to the Caribbean as a result of the mission. Projected sales over the next twelve months are substantial.

Nova Agri Associates
In St. Maartens and Jamaica buyers were very impressed by the quality of onions from Nova Agri, several stating they had never seen onions of that quality. There was interest in onions in 50 lb. bags. The theme of comments pertaining to onions and most produce was the need to have sold in consolidated loads with other produce items.

Bras d'Or Growers
Buyers were impressed by the density and size of cabbage on display from Bras d'Or Growers. As with the onions the real opportunity here lies in the ability to supply consolidated loads.

Value-Added Products

The following are the opportunities for value-added products. It is also important to note that successful market penetration for these products would be more likely with a consolidation service.

Lavinia's Olde English Delights
Lavinia's products were well received with many comments on the ginger pear preserve. Buyers commented on the quality of packaging and were interested in 50-60 mL containers of not only glass but plastic containers. Plastic containers were of interest because of less breakage and pilfering. During the show the blueberry syrup was pored over pancakes and cheesecakes an immense hit.

Maple Ridge Farm
These was interest in maple syrup in 50-60 mL glass and plastic containers for foodservice. There was also some interest in bulk maple syrup. Maple syrup was served with apple cinnamon pancakes and over cheesecake during the show and buyers were incredibly impressed by the flavour, especially over cheesecake, although many were unfamiliar with the flavour. The price of the maple products may be significantly restrictive for many Caribbean buyers.

Riverview Herbs Pesto
The basil pesto from Riverview was very well received with interest from many buyers from Barbados. Riverview is working with a company distributing premium products by air to the Caribbean as a means of distributing their product (the air distribution company is described later in the report).

Myra Soap Works
If there was a product that seemed to be a stand-out during the shows it was Myra Soap Works. The company and its goat milk personal care products attracted an amazingly high level of attention. The sales of this product could surpass apple sales resulting from the trip.

Scatterie Smokehouse
Buyers were impressed by the unique flavouring of Scatterie's smoked salmon but their costs were a little high. Since the show the company has reduced its unit costs through several means, one of which was eliminating the fish broker from which they were buying and are now buying raw product direct.

Classic Cheesecakes
Classic cheesecakes also received very positive attention as it has been picked up for distribution by several companies including the air distribution company.

Appleton Chocolates
Contact was attempted with J. Wray & Sons, the owners of Appleton Rum in Jamaica, to discuss co- marketing of Appleton Chocolates made with Appleton Rum. Unfortunately representatives of the company were not able to attend the show as they were located in Kingston not Montego Bay. We will continue to pursue this by contacting Appleton's Maritime regional representative in Halifax.

TECHNOLOGY OPPORTUNITIES

In addition to the Food and Beverage Showcase, meetings were held with several groups involved with agricultural development. As a result of the meetings several opportunities were explored and are described below.

Caribbean Joint Venture Production Project
During the first meeting with Dr. Francois Dagenais of the Inter-American Institute in Agriculture the concept of greenhouse production to supply the cruise lines and foodservice sectors was again discussed. As he did last year Dr. Dagenais stated the idea has definite possibilities and suggested four potential joint venture partners: 1) Clico Farms Insurance Company; 2) Wakefield Estates; 3) Barbados Women's Producers Co-operative; and 4) Northern Farmers Producers Co-operative.

Potential funding could be pursued through either the Inter-American Development Bank or the Caribbean Development Bank.

This project could also incorporate the strawberry production project that has been on hold for the last 18 months. The strawberry project could be a component of the production plan of this project.

Dairy Processing Facility
Dr. Dagenais also stated there is an opportunity to assist dairy farmers in Barbados to establish a small dairy processing facility. The milk would be for distribution to St. Lucia and Grenada. Because of the declining controls on the dairy industry and production distribution this may be an interesting opportunity.

Barbados Water Management Project
A water management project with the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation was defined. Barbados has a significant agricultural water management project underway, and has requested Nova Scotia participation in the proposal in areas of irrigation engineering, plant physiology and soil sciences. This information has been communicated to several groups for their potential participation.

Barbados 4-H Foundation Greenhouse
The Barbados 4-H Foundation has funding to purchase a greenhouse. They are interested in purchasing the greenhouse, set-up and some initial training from a Nova Scotia company.

FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES/RECOMMENDATIONS

Central Buying Desk Concept

As detailed earlier in this report substantial opportunity exists to ship consolidated loads of produce to the Caribbean. Numerous buyers in the islands purchase consolidated 40-foot containers of produce out of Miami. These buyers have never been offered alternative options for purchasing their products. We can compete on product quality as buyers repeatedly state that they don't usually see produce of the quality we had on display. We can compete on price for several reasons:
1) the value of the Canadian dollar;
2) reduced handling charges as produce consolidated in Miami is often handled 2-3 times; and
3) product consolidated in Miami is often trucked significant distances (California, Ontario and Quebec, etc.) which is significantly more expensive than product moved by ship. The difference in the shipping time is only several days.

It is also important to note that Jim Frost of MariNova Consulting, the commissioned consultant for the Caribbean Shipping Distribution Study, concluded the following in the study's closing letter:

"I don't believe there is a problem with infrastructure in the Caribbean; the problem is getting the product to the Caribbean. Also, I don't think the concept of a consolidation point in the Caribbean region is workable because of the cost of double and triple handling. It is much more efficient to consolidate the shipment in Nova Scotia and send the whole shipment from here."

Consolidation has always been considered a barrier in shipping Nova Scotia produce to the Caribbean as we wish only to ship in full containers of single product. There has been little effort made in exploring the Caribbean opportunities through offering a consolidation service.

To aggressively pursue this opportunity Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation, the Nova Scotia produce industry, and the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Marketing will develop a government/industry pilot project focused on further developing the Caribbean market through offering a produce consolidation service. The position will be funded for one year with the movement to the private sector by the end of the year.

It is believed that industry in Nova Scotia has not pursued the consolidation of produce to the Caribbean for several reasons:1) the lack of realization of an opportunity; and 2) the lack of resources to develop the market.

In early discussions with the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture and several key industry players this concept was very well received. It has also been suggested that the New England region be a component of the geographic focus for the project.

Air Consolidation

As with produce the problem with shipping many of the value-added products from Nova Scotia is the lack of consolidation. This issue is being addressed by a company called Gourmet By Air located in Prince Edward Island. The company is shipping premium products to the Caribbean by air. They are able to compete on price because they are not shipping through any of the airline cargo services but through planes which they lease and operate. The company ships a broad range of products including vacuum packed beef, seafood, and fresh pasta.

Gourmet by Air is expanding their product line and is interested in many Taste of Nova Scotia Quality Food Program as well as and other Nova Scotia products. The company has already picked up several products as a result of the mission including Classic Cheesecakes and Riverview Herbs. Gourmet By Air has also been meeting with the Taste of Nova Scotia Quality Food Program to explore options for working together.

Follow up with Nova Scotia Companies

Follow-up will be completed with companies whose products were demonstrated during the mission (companies which did not physically participate). Each will be provided with a fax summarizing buyer feedback followed by a phone call to discuss thoughts on the mission. The following companies will be contacted:

• Lavinia's Olde English Delights
• Appleton Chocolates
• Maple Ridge Farm
• Nova Agri Associates

King's Produce and Nova Agri will also be contacted with respect to Wayne Bravo of W.A.B. Enterprises of Toronto. There may be significant opportunity for warehousing of produce from both Nova Scotia and Cuba for distribution throughout the Caribbean by developing this relationship. It must be noted that this idea may seem to be in contrast to the central buying desk concept but in fact it is another market development strategy that also needs to be explored.

Follow-up with Caribbean Companies

Over 75 follow-up letters will be sent to contacts made during the shows. The initial letter will go under the letterhead of the Taste of Nova Scotia Quality Food Program, Enterprise Cape Breton and the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Marketing. Nova Scotia companies will be encouraged to follow up on company leads.

Technology Projects

Joint Venture Greenhouse Production Project
This opportunity will be communicated to Mark Eyking as he has been interested in the concept for the past year. He will be encouraged to contact (with assistance from the Marketing and Food Industry Development Branch and Enterprise Cape Breton) the Permanent Secretary of the Barbados Ministry of Agriculture, the Inter-American Institute of Agriculture, and the potential partners to develop a project proposal for IFI funding. This proposal will also attempt to incorporate the strawberry development project that has been worked on by the Marketing and Food Industry Development Branch over the past several years.

Greenhouse Sale - Barbados 4-H Foundation
This opportunity will be communicated again to Mark Eyking as the 4-H Foundation requested his contact information as a result of meeting Mark during the 1999 Barbados Food Show.

Barbados Water Management Project
As a result of a recommendation from the engineering and irrigation specialists within the Department of Agriculture and Marketing, Terry Hennigar, a water management consultant, was contacted concerning the water management project in Barbados. He has been in contact with the Barbados group concerning participation in the project.

Barbados Dairy Processing Facility
Kelly Kale of Farmers Dairy has been contacted concerning the potential opportunity of the dairy processing operation in Barbados. Farmers Dairy was contacted because of their past international experience and expressed interest in opportunities of this nature.

Itinerary

February 20
4:30 am - 6:30 pm Travel to Barbados and show set-up

February 21
8:30 am - 5:30 pm Show participation meetings:
11:00 am -12:00 pm Leslie Brereton - Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Commission
1:30 pm - 2:30 pm Vincent Haynes - Barbados 4-H Foundation
6:30 pm - 10:00 pm High Commissioners reception

February 22
8:30 am - 5:30 pm Show participation
meeting:
10:00am - 12:00pm Dr. Francois Dagenais - Inter-American Institute for Co-operation in Agriculture
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Show tear down

February 23
8:30 am - 5:30 pm - Travel to St. Maartens
Show set-up

February 24
8:30 am - 5:30 pm Show participation
6:30 pm - 9:30 pm Reception

February 25
8:30 am - 5:30 pm Show participation
Tear down

February 26
8:30 am - 6:30 pm Travel to Jamaica

February 27
10:00 am - 11:00 am Briefing
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Show set-up

February 28
8:30 am - 5:30 pm Show participation

February 29
8:30 am - 2:00 pm Show participation
Tear down

March 1
4:30 am - 11:30 pm Travel from Toronto to Halifax