The food, beverage and agro-processing sector is very diverse and it includes meat processors, ice cream factories, bakeries, snack foods, confectionaries, milk and milk products, fruit and vegetable processors, fish processors and small breweries. The whole sector with all its diversity is expected to exert a powerful backward linkage on Trinidad and Tobago's agricultural sector with the potential to create agricultural employment. However, conditions in the agricultural sector have constrained a successful domestic supply response to this demand.

Beverages can fall into three main areas:

• Alcohol and spirits embracing:
  • Distilled spirits for human consumption mainly whiskey, brandy, grappa and rum.
  • Neutral alcohols for aperitifs, liqueurs and bitters and also for use in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
  • Ethyl alcohol for industrial use
• Soft Drinks and Mineral Waters
• Fruit juices

The concentration is on tropical fruits - orange, grapefruit, tamarind, mango, portugal and cherry to name a few. However, recently Nestles has introduced new milk drinks that the market has accepted and can possibly form another category as it holds potential.

Opportunities within the Sector

• There is at present an operational Standing Committee on Food and Beverage including Agro-processing. This Committee provides the opportunity for further development of the Sector.
• CARIRI along with other relevant bodies stand ready to assist companies to improve their quality of products and meet safety and other requirements.

BDC's Intervention

• The Trade Assistance Unit of the BDC is staffed with highly competent personnel who can assist you in preparing to enter export markets.
• BDC provides Loan Guarantee facilities for individuals or companies desirous of expanding the reach of their business.
• BDC Leasing provides a leasing arrangement for commercial equipment to be used in conducting your business.
• BDC offers training in technical as well as theoretical areas of business, which would aid in increasing competitiveness of the company.
• The BDC has strategic alliances with many service providing companies locally, regionally and internationally, which can offer assistance where it is required.
• The BDC is an excellent source of information to guide you in developing your business into a competitive entity.
  • offered by the BDC provide a diagnostic approach to ensuring that your company grows.
• The BDC is in an excellent lobbying position with the government of Trinidad and Tobago, for the enactment of laws supporting individuals in the Sector.
• The BDC is examining a joint programme with CARIRI that will assist with the establishment of a Product Quality and Product Development System for the Sector. High on the agenda are the requirements for country certification for the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System (HACCP) ad ISO.