Saint Lucia’s premium bananas exported to Canada for first time

Castries, Saint Lucia: The bananas from Saint Lucia have been exported to Canada for the first time ever in the shipment of the National Fair-Trade Organization. While facilitating NFTO, the team of exporters sent their first-ever shipment of the premium bananas to Canada. 

The step was part of the CARICOM’s 25 by 25 agenda, aiming to reduce the import percentage and enhance the export activities in the Caribbean region. It is also intended to make the countries more self-reliant so that the revenue could be generated through the local products and the income could be enhanced for the local communities. 

Saint Lucia is a small island nation in the Caribbean with exclusive biodiversity and lush green rainforests. The bananas are quite popular in the country and are exclusively produced by the local farmers because of their advanced and enhanced techniques. Even in several festivals such as Taste Saint Lucia, Export Saint Lucia, the farmers from different communities gather and showcase the unique varieties of the bananas which are not available in any part of the world. 

Earlier in October 2024, Taste of Saint Lucia was hosted where 60 local manufacturers and tourism leaders such as hoteliers, restauraters, and barkeepers joined. Through this, the farmers interacted with these leaders and displayed the variety of their products, especially bananas which were also considered a win-win partnership for both visitors and local business community. 

For four days, the Taste of Saint Lucia featured over 200 guests from across Latin America, the Caribbean and the world who tasted the flavours of the countries. 

Notably, on October 18, 2024, Saint Lucia also exported its premium dasheen that were produced in Fond St Jacques. It has successfully entered into the international market after the producers received demand globally during the Taste of Saint Lucia event. The achievement was considered a great milestone for the exporters of the country as it will support the local farmers and manufacturers. 

The partnership has also been built to export the local products of Saint Lucia, especially dasheen and bananas, aiming to create sustainable opportunities.