The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Light Industries Development Council (BLIDC) says other “real steps that need to be taken” besides creating a Food Security Task Force to help spur local production.

Karla Wells-Lisgaris, the Council’s vice-president, responding to the prime minister’s plans to create such a body, told Tribune Business: “Our members include people in traditional manufacturing like beverages and chemicals; light industries like the print shops; and the agro-processors.

“Through all of this [pandemic] the majority of our members have been open, companies like Caribbean Bottling, Aquapure, Blanco Chemicals, Commonwealth Brewery obviously to a lesser extent, even though they are the manufacturers of Vitamalt, and the print shops.

“So for us I think it is important for people to have an appreciation of the importance of having a local presence. There are lots of concerns about food shortages, so Purity Bakery is operational and has had no shortage issues even though the shelves have been empty from time to time,” she added.

“That’s has been more of a logistical issue in terms of the opening times of the food stores versus the opening times for the curfew to allow our operations, so we have been in constant communication with the government and it has been a pretty easy process in getting the exemption.”

Ms Wells-Lisgaris added: “I think the dialogue along food security is very timely. We at the BLDIC, in better times, have been in communication with the government on what they can do to help make food manufacturing here more feasible. It is complicated but it’s not at the same time, and I think we as a country have been teetering on this conversation on food security for a while.

“I think there are some other real steps that need to be taken. For example, something that is potentially simple - and I know the insurance industry would disagree - is crop insurance. Elsewhere in the world they have crop insurance.

“Here, where we have hurricanes and also, potentially, you can have a dry season and lose your entire harvest, I don’t know of any local insurance companies that provide crop insurance. In another lifetime I used to work very closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and I was informed that no companies provided crop insurance.”

Ms Wells-Lisgaris continued: “There are different pieces of legislation that provide incentives to local manufacturing. You have the Industries Encouragement Act and you have the Agricultural Manufacturers Act, and they all have different rules.

“I am not saying necessarily one sector gets more benefits than the other, but specifically for the Agricultural Manufacturers Act, that piece of legislation was set up from the 1950s, I believe, and the way it is set up is that there is a set list of items that people in agriculture can draw from.

“But today we have hydroponic suppliers, so their pieces of equipment obviously were not in existence when this legislation was crafted. A lot of people in agriculture have an issue where they need this particular thing in duty-free, but the Act does not call for it. So they are told they cannot get it in because that is not one of the listed items. Really, if a water producer gets it in duty-free, why can’t agriculturalists get it in free?” she asked.

“At the same time, if you really want to spur local production, then you need to have systems in place that will make it profitable for the company. While it is all and good and well to say you are feeding the nation, if you are not making money on it then it is not sustainable and you may be in business for two years trying to swim but you will sink at some point.”

Disclosing how Council members have adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms Wells-Lisgris said: “Some of our members have been able to switch from their normal manufacturing. About two weeks ago, the CDC (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) in the United States made this shift in the messaging on the masks.

“Before that, people were saying not to wear masks unless you are sick and save the N-95 for healthcare professionals. So I messaged Bahama Handprint to see if they have given any thought into making masks. I know their fabric is not necessarily the thickest, but at least it can stop an asymptomatic infected person from spreading it.

“They said ‘yes, of course they can do this’, and it would be good for them to keep their seamstresses to get some money in their pocket. So instantly they were able to start producing masks. Take for example, Cartwright’s Bedding. They normally produce bedding, and they also now are producing masks.”