News

What’s the Next Step For the Caribbean Coconut Industry?

By: Caribbean Journal Staff - October 8, 2013

By the Caribbean Journal staff

After a slump, the Caribbean’s coconut industry seems to be rebounding. But what’s the next step for an industry that stretches across the region?

Industry stakeholders met in Guyana this week during the Caribbean Week of Agriculture to discuss the “vast potential” of Caribbean coconuts, holding a workshop on Monday and Tuesday organized by the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Cooperation, the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute and the University of the West Indies.

The group addressed the recent growth of the industry, the varied uses of coconut and opportunities to push the industry, which still faces challenges like pests and diseases and a lack of market research on the use of its byproducts.

Coconuts can be used for a multitude of purposes, from converting the husks into compost and, thereby, into electricity; turning flesh into coconut oil and milk and the use of coconut jelly.

“We need to organize the industry; we need to have people working closer together …We are not looking at coconut only for coconut oil as we did 10 to 15 years ago,” said Arlington Chesney, executive director of CARDI. “There are new products: coconut water, which used to be a `by-the-way’ drink, is now a full-fledged industrial drink … we see more of the by-products being utilized.”

Chesney said there were also more coconuts moving across the CARICOM market, from Guyana to Trinidad, for example.

This year’s CWA has attracted participation from across the Caribbean (including Haiti for the first time) and as far as Tonga and Samoa in the Pacific.

Popular Posts w punta cana

A New All-Inclusive W Hotel Is Opening This Year in Punta Cana 

The first-ever all-inclusive W Hotel in the Caribbean is opening this year in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Caribbean Journal has learned.  The hotel, part of a broad expansion for parent company Marriott International, is on the list of expected 2024 […]


Why Grenada Is a New Caribbean Luxury Hotspot

beach house silversands

From its world-renowned chocolate to its pristine beaches to a region-leading focus on sustainability, Grenada is as fascinating and unique as destination as you’ll find in the Caribbean.  But in the last few years, the lush Eastern Caribberan island has […]


5 Adults-Only Resorts to Visit Right Now in the Caribbean 

galley bay

Sometimes you just want that extra degree of serenity, of privacy, of seclusion. There is a reason, after all, that adults-only resorts are booming in popularity, particularly in the Caribbean: travelers want to know that when they arrive, they know […]


Related Posts nobu los cabos

Frontier Is Adding a New Nonstop Flight to Los Cabos 

It’s one of the most popular hotel destinations in Mexico: Los Cabos, which has seen a broad boom in recent years with the entry to market of brands like Nobu, Thompson, Marriott and Waldorf Astoria, among others.  That has led, […]


This Former Caribbean Rockefeller Resort Is for Sale

caribbean rockefeller resort

In 1986, Laurance Rockefeller, the founder of Rock Resorts, developed 27 acres of prime beachfront land into what was for decades one of the sought after places to stay in the Caribbean. Now, the four-star, 150-room resort is for sale, […]


Vote for the 2024 Caribbean Green Awards, from Green Energy to Sustainable Hotels

caribbean green

Hotels serving organic food grown by local farmers. Airports powered by large solar fields. Pristine coastlines protected by marine parks. Real estate developments fueled by clean energy. It’s an exciting time for the Green movement in the Caribbean, a region […]


SUBSCRIBE!

Sign up for Caribbean Journal's free newsletter for a daily dose of beaches, hotels, rum and the best Caribbean travel information on the net.


No. Thank You