The island aims to increase capacity, explore new export markets
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada — A three-year project has been launched to help Grenada enhance its industry traceability and surveillance systems, as well as the soursop industry’s ability to manage future pest risks and investigate potential diversification into new markets.
The soursop industry in Grenada, which has a projected annual value of US$2.6 million, is thriving and robust with the United States as its main export market, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said.
The lack of two pests — the fruit borer and the seed borer — allows the island to have advantageous access to this market. Additionally, due to the large number of immigrant communities in the United States, soursop has become more popular over the years.
Equally important is an estimated 2,600 farmers, most of them being small-scale farmers, who rely on soursop for their livelihood with farming as their primary source of income, the FAO said.
Due to the industry’s significant earnings and potential for further expansion, increasing soursop production and export has been given priority in Grenada’s National Sustainable Development Plan 2020–2035. This has led to the collaboration between the FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Fisheries, and Cooperatives.
The project, entitled “Enhancing Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Capacity and Market Access for Grenadian Soursop Exports” was launched on April 18 and will be carried out by the the FAO.
It is funded in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Forestry, Marine Resources and Cooperatives in Grenada and The Standards and Trade Development Facility of the World Trade Organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.