Coconut oil plant investment

The October 28 edition of Stabroek Business reported on a US$6m investment in  the coconut industry by Canada-based Guyanese Vishnu Ramdeen. Located at Marudi Creek on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway the plant is expected to be completed by the middle of next year and expects to immediately begin producing coconut oil, desiccated coconut, charcoal and coco peat. An array of equipment is already in place including shell removers, a bucket elevator and an expeller. It is estimated that it will employ 167 persons at the peak of its operations and it is aiming at the export market.

On so many levels, this is the type of investment Guyana desperately needs and Mr Ramdeen, who is into real estate and the haulage business, must be congratulated for taking this bold step.

With the prospect of oil wealth for Guyana generating  starry-eyed notions of the future, it needs to be reiterated that only the broad diversification of the economy and the sustenance of jobs growth will enable wealth creation for the ordinary citizens of this country. Diversification and the creation of jobs require investment and this is what Mr Ramdeen’s project will contribute to.

Whereas, the coconut festival held in Georgetown last week created the impression that it was largely ceremonial and a showcase for the coconut-based products being produced, this investment by Mr Ramdeen is the real deal. Hopefully it will help to concentrate the minds of stakeholders in all strata of the coconut industry on two key imperatives: rejuvenating aged coconut plantations and continually adding value to products. Once all goes well with the investment, Mr Ramdeen’s company will be on the search for 100,000 coconuts on a daily basis. This will be quite a challenge until the company, if it so wishes, develops its own coconut plantations. It is widely accepted that many of the local plantations from which coconuts are sourced are not as productive as they should be and that the situation will likely worsen as time goes by. This matter has been on the agenda for decades without any serious attention by the Ministry of Agriculture or the private sector.

Given the surge in global interest in coconuts and its varied products, it may be appropriate for a serious examination by the government and the industry of the best locations for large scale coconut plantations taking account of proximity to eventual markets and value-added processing facilities. Investors should then be invited to consider investing in these areas while working along with processors.  The local industry shouldn’t be content with exporting coconuts to the Dominican Republic (DR) or even coconut water to Trinidad. Furthermore,  it is clear that places like DR are expanding their coconut plantations so that local exporters face the eventual loss of that market. It is clearly time to think bigger like Mr Ramdeen.

Go-Invest should provide as much help as possible to Mr Ramdeen’s venture and assist to create a value chain between him and others in the industry to maximise the returns to all of them and position them to access value-added export markets. There is no reason why local producers cannot meet the demand for products such as coconut milk which continues to be imported in large quantities.  It requires incentives, organizing and the pro-active identification of markets.

Mr Ramdeen’s investment also consummates the promise of the cavernous gulf that separates the diaspora from the homeland. The diaspora remains a vast source of talent and venture capital that can propel the growth of GDP and create jobs. It remains largely untapped and post-independence governments have signally failed to assuage the angst of the thousands in the diaspora and to harness the potential. What motivated Mr Ramdeen to make his investment amid rampant concerns here about crime, an unfriendly business environment and other maladies would make for an interesting case study. The economy can do with many such investments and we wish Mr Ramdeen and his company great success.