Agriculture officials are closely monitoring the availability of food supplies coming into the country, which could be threatened by the ongoing war in Iraq.
Deputy Chairman of the Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation Godfrey Eneas, who is also a former director of Agriculture, said, “Food security is a very big issue in this region and it will be exacerbated by the war time conditions we are likely to face.”
Eighty-five percent of the food consumed in The Bahamas is imported, with 80 percent of that amount coming from the United States, according to officials.
Mr. Eneas said this is significant because after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, stringent security measures were put in place at airports to closely monitor persons entering that country. These measures have since been extended to marine ports, which, according to officials, could have the affect of slowing down the import of food products.
“The west coast of Florida; specifically ports like Fort Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm Beach and Jacksonville, is the main conduit for the distribution of food to The Bahamas and to the Caribbean,” Mr. Eneas said. “Now that we’re in a heightened security alert, stringent measures are being put in place at these Florida ports, measures to the point where it is believed that [exports of food] would be affected by as much as 50 percent.”
Additionally, the increased security measures would result in increased use of fuel, manpower and surveillance, which could impact not only the availability of food but also the cost of food, Mr. Eneas said.
He said in evaluating the state of food supplies in The Bahamas he would consider four elements: The first consideration would be the amount of food on inventory in the warehouses of food importers; the second is the quantities of food importers have on order, including supplies in transit.
Additionally, the quantity of crops currently being grown in The Bahamas and the amount of supplies that could be used in food production, such as seed, fertiliser and other chemicals, would have to be evaluated, Mr. Eneas said.
“When you look at all these different areas then you could come up with a figure which indicates the state of food readiness which The Bahamas is in right now,” he said. “Then we have to work out how long that can last us.”
Mr. Eneas said he is not aware of the nation’s current level of food security as measured by the criteria.
Some local food importers are also monitoring such concerns, but many say they are confident that food supplies would remain steady.
John Robertson, chief executive officer of Bahamas Wholesale Agencies, told the Bahama Journal that there have been some delays in the arrival of food supplies, but his suppliers have not indicated that they expect any difficulties in providing food products.
“I haven’t been made aware of any problems with our shipments,” Mr. Robertson said. “There has been some slow up with shipments that come through Florida coming in transit through Europe. It’s usually taking an extra two or three days now because they’re going through extra security procedures.”
Mr. Eneas, meanwhile, reiterated that The Bahamas is not yet self-sufficient in terms of providing food for the nation and much more must be done to increase domestic food production.
“Just as we seek to have a minimum level of foreign reserves in the Central Bank to ensure that the country is always in a position to be able to purchase food, medicine, gasoline and other essential items I think we should be at that minimum level in terms of food,” he said.
By Darrin Culmer, The Bahama Journal
