Traffickers/traders of agricultural produce from St. Vincent and the Grenadines have complained to ANN about not being unable to pay farmers for produce sold to them last weekend.
One trafficker told ANN today (January 15) that she went to the bank to convert her Trinidad and Tobago (TT) Dollars to Eastern Caribbean Dollars (XCD) when she was told that traffickers are not allowed to change more than $20,000.
Another trafficker confirmed this to ANN.
When ANN contacted the Bank of SVG, a senior officer said: “the restrictions came from the Central Bank, but if they wish to change more than 20,000 dollars they must have the declaration form from Trinidad Customs.
The senior banking officer said the bank has limited amounts of TT dollars they can change from traffickers per month. This means that if the limit is met in the middle of the month, they cannot go beyond that until the beginning of the next month.
The traffickers say they have been left in a very bad position by the banking regulations, and they have suggested that the move would cripple their already troubled businesses because if they can’t pay farmers they won’t be able to get produce to sell.
The move comes in the wake of another brewing issue concerning prices for agricultural produce from farmers.
In a report published on Sunday, January 15, by One News SVG, Agriculture Minister Saboto Caesar said a preliminary list of the minimum prices for agricultural produce will soon be released by the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
According to Mr. Caesar who is currently the longest serving agriculture minister in CARICOM, the list will be released for public consultation.
The move to release the list comes in the wake of a growing dispute between farmers and traffickers/traders of agricultural commodities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The issue is that farmers are making less money than the value of their produce because traffickers who buy the farmers’ goods set the final prices for the commodities.
In an exclusive interview with One News SVG, Agriculture Minister Saboto Caesar said: “traffickers can expect that before the end of the month (January) a list will be released publicly with the minimum prices varying categories of agricultural commodities could be sold for.”
He said: “if traffickers cannot meet the minimum price for markets they are selling to, we will find alternative markets and form new trade platforms.”
Today, one trafficker told ANN that they are very suspicious of the move to limit the conversion of TT currency to Eastern Caribbean Dollars as the are aware of Trinidad wanting to do business with Dominica to procure agricultural produce.