SVG Cattle Farmers Oppose Ban on Cattle Export
Cattle farmers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines have begun a national mobilisation to resist a proposed ban on the exportation of cattle to Grenada by the Government.St. Vincent and the Grenadines is currently the largest exporter of livestock in the OECS.
This process started almost a decade ago when a Grenadian butcher who goes by the name of “Jude” or “Cattleman” entered into an agreement with local cattle farmers to buy animals for export to Grenada. Over the last 10 years, hundreds of farmers have increased their production to participate in the export trade and to satisfy local demand.
The ULP Administration embarked on several projects to increase cattle production, including expanding the artificial insemination programme. The policy was to increase production to levels where both national food security needs and regional exports could create a solid income for cattle farmers.
The last time that cattle farmers experienced such great opportunities was under the St. Vincent Labour Party Government of former Prime Minister Milton Cato, which established the Diamond Dairy. Today, under an NDP administration, instead of a push being advanced to satisfy the market and put more money in the pockets of our cattle farmers and an excellent price for our consumers, the policy ship of the NDP in the Ministry of Agriculture has run aground.
Firstly, no government in 2026 can dictate to any individual who they can and cannot sell to. Any attempt to do that, once tested by the farmers and they are denied, will become a court matter. We do not have laws stopping lawyers from taking certain cases; the government is not stopping doctors from seeing certain patients.
How on earth can they stop, or even think that it is legitimate to stop, cattle farmers from securing a market of their choice? Our butchers continue to play a very important role in our economy. However, it is undeniable that there are local butchers who would sell their cattle for export at a higher price and try to get cattle cheaper locally for slaughtering. It was more than a joke to listen to the Minister of Agriculture say on the radio that the government is considering ending live animal exports to Grenada.
The Minister needs to be advised by his technical staff that opening an abattoir in SVG does not give the country an overseas market. Buyers can get slaughtered cattle cheaper from Brazil, New Zealand, and Argentina, shipped into Grenada. SVG only has an advantage in live animal export for two reasons: one, there is an appetite in Grenada for freshly slaughtered beef; and two, SVG is just a few hours’ sailing from Grenada.
Over the coming weeks, cattle farmers will be mobilized to ensure that our rights are protected. We will contact the OECS Secretariat because the Minister is speaking as if he needs to be reminded that there is an OECS single market and economy. Let us hope that while we are debating here in SVG about a draconian plan by the government, that some other country does not begin to grab our market share, placing SVG in the negative.
If this line of vision from the Government is allowed to persist, the cattle farmers of SVG will perish!
