A variety of Guyana’s agricultural produce will be on show at the IFE 10th Americas Food and Beverage Show which will be held in Miami from October 29-31.

According to a press release from the Guyana Trade and Investment Support/United States Agency of International Development (GTIS/USAID) Project Guyana is expected to display produce such as butternut squash, hot peppers, limes, oranges and eddoes. Slideshows of other produce such as pumpkin, coconuts, pineapple, cassava, ginger and melons will be displayed and they are expected to be depicted in brochures. The release also said the exhibition is part of the agriculture ministry’s market-led strategy to diversify Guyana’s agriculture sector and increase the export of non-traditional produce.

About 300 exhibitors from 28 countries are expected to display more than 5,000 different products from the Western Hemisphere. Buyers such as cruise lines, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, wholesalers and importers/exporters usually attend the IFE show. In the past more than 7,500 persons have attended the show and sales amounting to more than US$125M have been finalized.

While the Guyana booth is expected to promote other locally grown produce, special emphasis will be placed on marketing the butternut squash. Butternut squash is a relatively new product for local farmers but the US market demand has greatly increased in recent years. Trial batches of the squash have done well on the local market so this, coupled with a strong market demand, has led the ministry and the Project to focus on squash as the ideal produce to increase the country’s presence on the international export market.