$8.9M contract awarded to upgrade Hope Coconut Industries

Some $8.9 million in upgrades will be made to the Hope Coconut Industries Limited Facility, East Coast of Demerara, following the award of a contract by the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday.

Triple ‘A’ Construction Services and Supplies was handed the contract to upgrade the facility, which aims to provide a certified environment for new and existing agro-processors.

The Facility is set to be equipped with more modern agro-processing equipment that will be used to convert raw foods into processed foods.

As part of the Hope Coconut Industries Limited’s (HCIL) emergency budgetary allocation last year, two new coconut nurseries were established- one at Kairuni on the Linden Soesdyke Highway and the other in Charity, Region Two.

The Agriculture Ministry has announced plans to establish six additional nurseries across the country during this year.

Coconut runs third in Guyana’s agriculture sector, after rice and sugar, and first in the country’s non-traditional sector in terms of earnings. It is also the third-largest industry in Guyana, currently occupying about 25,000 acres in Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and 10.

Guyana, on average, produces 92 million nuts annually, much of which is exported for coconut copra and water, mainly to Barbados, Trinidad and The Dominican Republic.