Areas of Work

Free Movement of Goods

Twenty-Five by 2025 Initiative

Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, Lead Head with responsibility for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy CSME), issued an urgent call for the Region to reduce the extra-regional food import bill by 25% before 2025. The “Twenty-five by 2025 Initiative” aimed at reducing extra-regional agri-food imports by 25% by 2025, is the CPSO’s response to the mandate given by Prime Minister Mottley.

The CPSO prepared a comprehensive submission for consideration by the Heads of Government at the 31 Intersessional in February 2020, focused on seven priority investment business cases: Poultry Meat and Hatching Eggs, Animal Feed, Meat Products, Vegetables, Cassava, and Coconut products, as well as an eighth area of work in progress which focuses on Leveraging Regional Distribution Networks to develop accessible markets for products from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). 

The CPSO will prepare investment business cases to capitalise on CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) agri-food opportunities, consistent with the objective of reducing CARICOM’s food import bill, enhancing food and nutrition security, strengthening the Region’s agriculture resilience and identifying opportunities for extra-regional exports.

These priorities target the displacement of US$418.8 million worth of extra-regional agri-food imports.

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