Ensuring A Future For Copra

Contact: Janin John

Thursday, August 2, 2001 – Government, through the Office of Private Sector Relations (OPSR) in the Office of the Prime Minister, is helping to ensure that St. Lucia’s copra industry has a bright future.

On Tuesday, the OPSR signed an agreement with the St. Lucia Coconut Growers Association (SLCGA) for EC$19,154 to assist with covering the cost of a project which will examine possibilities for diversifying the range of products manufactured by the SLCGA both for the domestic and international export markets.

Coconut oil is currently the SLCGA’s main product.

At the signing ceremony, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Hon. Cassius Elias, commended the SLCGA’s move to diversify and gave the Association encouragement and full support.

“The next step that I urge coconut growers to look at is using the entire coconut tree as a process of diversification.  We must not allow the coconut industry to take the route of the banana industry,” he said.

The Minister stressed that economic diversification, with an emphasis on producing new export products, was indispensable for St. Lucia’s survival in the new global economy.

Since its establishment in 1998, the OPSR has approved 35 projects covering assistance to the tune of EC$9.2 million. The beneficiaries include private sector organizations, parastatals, government agencies and community-based organisations.

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