00:00Despite repeated calls for TNT to move towards food sustainability, agriculture continues to receive one of the smallest fiscal allocations,
00:10with a further decrease this past fiscal year.
00:13The Agricultural Society is hoping that Budget 2026-2027 brings change.
00:20So we would like to see some emphasis being placed on agricultural projects and development.
00:25Especially, we saw that there was a launch of the processing plant down there, I believe in Richard Castle.
00:31And we would like to see something taking place along the lines of agro-processing as well too, within Shrine
00:36Tobago.
00:37Because there's a strong need for an agro-processing arm within the country as well to add value to the
00:43farmers' products.
00:44So we hope that some emphasis being placed.
00:46And notice that we are in a position where we're talking about earning foreign exchange.
00:50The price of a barrel of pepper is always more than a barrel of oil.
00:54So if it is that we could look at agro-processing as an avenue to earn foreign exchange, this is
01:01something that we want to see happening.
01:04Additionally, as we all are aware, our coffee and cocoa, especially cocoa, is ranked amongst the third in the world,
01:11right?
01:11So we would like to see some emphasis being placed upon cocoa development as well.
01:16I know that there are some plans to revamp the old cocoa estate and so on.
01:21So we hope that these plans come to light, especially.
01:23Meantime, the T&T incoming tour operators' association says it would like to see continued investment in tourism infrastructure and
01:32attractions,
01:34including the maintenance and accessibility of tourism sites, roads, and other infrastructure that directly affect the visitor experience.
01:43The group is also underscoring the importance of destination marketing to ensure that T&T has a competitive edge on
01:50other Caribbean destinations.
01:52It notes that increased airlift and cruise activity will ultimately translate integrator economic benefits for local businesses.
02:01Meantime, Forex accessibility and incentives and support for SMEs remain high on the list of concerns for several business organizations.
02:11The GTCIC went to some of the public consultations that PSOT held, and through that we submitted some recommendations to
02:24the Ministry of Finance that we'd like to see.
02:27One of those suggestions was a more balanced distribution of Forex, specifically for SMEs.
02:35So either through the banks or specially created separate facility just for SMEs to access.
02:45And secondly, for SMEs that are looking to diversify and possibly to earn their own Forex,
02:54or as part of the government's plan for diversification of the economy.
02:59Some sort of tax credit.
03:01Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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