The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The MINISTER of Financial Servcies yesterday said the Government was moving quickly to modernise this nation’s “very rudimentary” Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) regime, noting that the Bahamas was perhaps one of the only Caribbean countries without a Standards Bureau.

Speaking with Tribune Businessm, Ryan Pinder said a Standards Bureau would provide the necessary framework to ensure the necessary consumer protection and safety in international trade.

“We have completed consultations, both the Ministry of Financial Services and the Ministry of Agriculture, on the draft legislation,” he said. “We look to incorporate any comments being fed back. We have given the industry a certain time period to provide comments and suggestions to the nature of the consultation. Then we would look to incorporate those and table the legislation in Parliament in short order after we have received all of our comments back from industry.”

Mr Pinder added: “We are very excited about the SPS legislation. What it covers is all food products and trade in food products. It provides a regime to ensure that the food products in the country are safe and meet certain standards.

“With that, in conjunction with the development of the Standards Bureau, we look to integrate both of those into the agricultural school we look to put in Andros.

“It’s a comprehensive development of SPA standards, food security and food sustainability built upon an educational platform in the agricultural school. We think it’s an excellent model. We look to partner with the University of the Bahamas in its transition to cause for the necessary laboratories, testing and technical advice needed to support the programme.”

Mr Pinder said his Ministry was looking to get as much development assistance as possible in the development of the SPS regime and Standards Bureau without having to rely on the public purse.

  As to this current SPS regime, Mr Pinder said: “The Department of Agriculture has certain laboratories and a very rudimentary SPS regime.

“It’s certainly not to the calibre that we need. We have no Standards Bureau. We may be the only country in the Caribbean without one. We have an inability to place standards on different products, on packaging.

“We see a lot of complaints about export-only products here. A Standards Bureau provides the necessary framework around that to provide  the consumer protection and safety in international trade that is required.”