Black Immigrant Daily News

Barbados and Rwanda have begun talks surrounding establishing a direct airlift service with RwandAir Limited to Barbados.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Senator Lisa Cummins, along with officials from the ministry, met on the margins of Day two of the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) 2022, with Rwanda’s Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Charge of East African Community, Prof. Manasseh Nshuti.

During their talks, the two officials discussed the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding airlift services between the two countries.

They also discussed joint destination marketing, trade and investment opportunities, E-Government platforms, meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) and the upcoming World Travel Market.

Currently, RwandAir Limited flies from Kigali to Entebbe, Nairobi, Bujumbura, Lagos, Abuja and Accra in Africa and internationally to Dubai, China, London and Brussels.

Also in attendance at the courtesy call were: Barbados’ High Commissioner to Kenya, William A. McDonald; Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jonathan Reid; Chief Executive Officer, (CEO) Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc., (BTMI) Dr Jens Thraenhart; BTMI’s Chair of the Board of Directors, Shelly Williams; BTMI’s Chief Financial Officer, Craig Hinds; Honorary Consul of Barbados to Rwanda, Emery Rubagenga and Deputy CEO at Rwanda Development Board, Zephanie Niyonkuru.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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World food prices have fallen for a fifth consecutive month but are still nearly eight per cent higher than a year ago, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on Friday.

Its latest Food Price Index shows that the prices of five commodities – cereals, vegetable oil, dairy, meat and sugar – were lower in August than in July.

The Index tracks the monthly international prices of these breadbasket staples. It averaged 138.0 points last month, down nearly two per cent from July, though 7.9 per cent above the value a year before.

Ukraine exports a factor

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FAO said the decline in cereal prices reflected improved production prospects in North America and Russia, and the resumption of exports from Black Sea ports in Ukraine.

A landmark agreement to unblock Ukraine grain exports amid the ongoing war was signed in July by the country, Russia, Türkiye and the UN.

Rice prices on average held steady during August, while quotations for coarse grains, such as maize, increased marginally.

Vegetable oil prices decreased by 3.3 per cent, which is slightly below the August 2021 level. FAO attributed this to increased availability of palm oil from Indonesia, due to lower export taxes, and the resumption of sunflower oil shipments from Ukraine.

High price for cheese

Although dairy prices saw a two per cent drop, they remained 23.5 per cent higher than in August 2021.

The price of cheese increased for the tenth consecutive month, though milk prices “eased” following expectations of increased supplies from New Zealand, even amid projections of lower production in Western Europe and the US.

The price of meat declined by 1.5 per cent but remained just over eight per cent higher than the value last August.

International quotations for poultry fell amid elevated export availabilities, and bovine meat prices declined due to weak domestic demand in some top exporting countries, while pig meat quotations rose.

Sugar prices also hit their lowest level since July 2021, largely due to high export caps in India and lower ethanol prices in Brazil.

Outlook for cereals and wheat

FAO has also issued its global cereal production forecast for this year, which projects a decline of nearly 40 million tonnes, or 1.4 per cent from the previous year.

The bulk of this decline mainly concerns coarse grains, with maize yields in Europe expected to drop 16 per cent below their five-year average level due to the exceptional hot and dry weather conditions affecting the continent.

By contrast, FAO expects there will be a “negligible drop” in worldwide wheat production resulting from expected record harvests in Russia and conducive weather conditions in North America.

Global rice production is also expected to decline by 2.1 percent from the all-time high reached in 2021.

SOURCE: UN News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The United States Coast Guard on Friday said that a crew from the Coast Guard Cutter, Vigorous, offloaded about 22 pounds of cocaine and 1,256 pounds of marijuana, worth an estimated $3 million at Base Miami Beach.

In a statement, the Coast Guard said that the drugs seized is in keeping with its fight against drug cartels in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean.

“Vigorous is glad to have been able to make an important contribution to the Coast Guard’s counterdrug mission,” said Commandeer Ryan A Waters, commanding officer of Vigorous.

“I’m incredibly proud of the hardworking Vigorous crew’s proficiency, teamwork and devotion to duty that enabled the detection, interdiction and boarding of a vessel suspected of drug smuggling,” he added.

According to Coast Guard officials, the fight against drug cartels in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, and the transnational criminal organisations they are associated with, “requires a unity of effort in all phases; from detection and monitoring to interdiction and apprehension, and on to criminal prosecutions by international partners and US Attorneys’ Offices in districts across the nation.”

“Detecting and interdicting illegal drug traffickers on the high seas involves significant interagency and international coordination.”

It said the Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West, Florida, conducts detection and monitoring of aerial and maritime transit of illegal drugs.

Maritime interdiction of illicit maritime activity in the Caribbean Sea is coordinated by the Seventh Coast Guard District, headquartered in Miami, Florida, and the Eleventh Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda, California coordinates interdiction of illicit maritime activity in the Eastern Pacific.

The Vigorous generally deploys 185 days a year for patrols lasting 45 to 60 days to a variety of operating areas, extending from the Gulf of Maine to the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

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