This has left farmers without boxes to fulfill their export obligations for weeks now.
Agriculture Minister Alfred Prospere, two weeks ago, said the government was aware of the situation and is currently procuring boxes from a supplier in the Dominican Republic.
Banana farmer, Sandy Joseph, is disappointed at the unavailability of boxes and doubts the arrival of the boxes in Saint Lucia before the end of April.
“I don't see us getting boxes next week because the transit time of boxes or any shipment coming out of the DR is at least seven days with no issues. So if we could get some clarification from the government, if that has been fast-tracked or something, that would be welcomed. But as far as I know, those boxes will not be on-island,” she lamented.
The local supplier of the boxes, the Windward Islands Packaging Company Ltd. (WINERA) explained that the factory suspended its services to facilitate and upgrade its facility and machinery.
The Company said this downtime was communicated to its customers, who were encouraged to send their packaging requests ahead of February 25th 2024.
However, even with these requests made prior, the company experienced difficulty meeting the demand due to faults in their old machines. WINERA said the remaining boxes were ordered from the Dominican Republic, but that order encountered further delays.
“Unfortunately, the shipment is late due to shipping and logistics issues. The sheets are therefore expected to arrive during the second week of April upon which time they will be converted into cartons for use by customers,” they said in a statement.
Joseph says these different hiccups are not appreciated as the farmers have obligations and responsibilities to meet.
“Myself among other farmers are tenants, we need to pay those lands, farmers have rent to pay, bills to pay. Some farmers depend solely on their farms to provide for their families,” she lamented.
She explained that farmers have been unable to meet their quotas since March 2024 and their markets are under threat.
“At the end of April, which we were hoping to get boxes, this is when production will dip and you have customers that you've not supplied with bananas for a few weeks now. Are those customers really going to be waiting for us? Barbados is another sensitive market. If we lose the Barbados market, what do we do?” she said.
Joseph is demanding the government do more about the current challenge.
“I think the government of Saint Lucia is dropping the ball on agriculture on the whole and I feel to a certain extent it's like disrespect to farmers on the whole because we keep coming and saying how food security is important to our economy and we're doing so much to boost the economy. We just completed a programme where the government distributed fertilizers to farmers, including banana farmers where they received at least four bags an acre to boost their production and right now they just cannot sell the produce,” she said.