Speaking on the first day of CanEx, St Vincent and the Grenadines Minister of Agriculture, Saboto Caesar appealed for CARICOM and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States to partner in the development of standards governing the negotiation of cannabis trade agreements for their member states.
The St Vincent and the Grenadines agriculture minister argued that small Caribbean states should desist from competing against each other so aggressively as to devalue their shared heritage.
“So many of our regional initiatives have failed because we pit one Small Island Developing State against another and collectively, we devalue our shared value proposition,” Caesar argued.
He added: “My fear is that if Caribbean leaders don’t get the cannabis strategy right, we may end up losing out on one of the most lucrative exports in our region’s history; more lucrative than bananas, tobacco, cotton or sugar cane.”
CanEx Jamaica Business Conference and Expo brings together cannabis industry professionals from over 30 countries across North America, the Caribbean, Europe, South and Central America and Africa discussing the latest advances in the medicinal, health/wellness, legal, regulatory, business and investment landscapes. The three-day conference featured more than 80 speakers.
According to conceptualiser of the business to business conference, now in its fourth year, there were participants from some 35 countries at the event this year, up from 23 last year.
