Bridgetown.
A leading Barbadian businessman has accused a state agency in Trinidad and Tobago of blocking his company products from being in the twin island republic.
Richard Cozier, the managing director and chief executive officer of Banks Holding Limited (BHL) yesterday said that all milk products and some juices and some milk products made by the Pine Hill Dairy (PHD) a subsidiary of BHL were being blocked from being sold in Trinidad by the Food and Drug Agency.
Cozier told a press conference yesterday that for the last 18 months, PHD has encounter several challenges accessing the Trinidad market because the Food and Drug Agency has indicated that several brands of their products have non compliant labelling.
"Ordinary, we would have look at the non compiance and made the investment to alter the label to be compliant. In this case, however, we believe that whereas they are informing us of the areas were noncompliant,prominent Trinidadian and international brands sold in Trinidad are equally non compliant but are not prohibited from being sold in Trinidad nor, as far as we are aware, being requested to alter their labelling", says Cozier.
Detailing some of the areas the BHL is being discriminated in, Cozier said the company was told it's Malted Flavoured Milk is non compliant because the product name is not same size and font.
"A comparison to Nestle's Supligen produced and sold in Trinidad indicates that their product common name is also not in the same size and font but they are compliant and we are not", Cozier said.
"In the case of evaporated milk, we are informed that our packing do not indicate the process utilised of UTH in the manufacture of the product. A check with the Nestle brand produced and sold in Trinidad reveal that infromation is also missing from their products, yet they are compliant and we are not", he added.
According to Cozier, it appears the only way to get PHD products into the Trinidad is to make the changes requested. He stated this will take time and money but could be done.
"We do not think we should be required to because this would be a clear indication that our productsare be held up to a different standard from the competition',Cozier said.
He stressed that the BHL is a firm supported of CARICOM and the Single Market but it has to be fair and equitable for all players.
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