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A representative of East Point Dairies Inc. showing off a bottle of My Milk, one of two new products by local dairy farmers, at the just concluded Agrofest. (Picture compliments the RDC) |
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Small Business and Rural Development, Ruth Blackman, has praised the quality of products which were on show by its clients at Agrofest this year.
The Rural Development Commission (RDC) had the largest contingent of exhibitors – approximately 90 – at the event, which ran from February 22 to 24 in Queen’s Park, The City. They showcased a range of products from jewellery, bags and clothing to soy ice-cream, preserves and Mauby Milk.
After touring some of the booths last Saturday, Ms. Blackman said she was "very impressed" with what she had seen.
"If I had to highlight a couple of things, we were very impressed with the aquaculture that we saw on display. We were also very pleased to see the creativity that [came] out of many of the products that we saw along the tour. For example, Debbie’s Closet, her bags are fantastic and she is one of our clients at Pelican Village. Generally, we were very pleased with the products that our clients have produced and we were very happy to sponsor their participation in this year’s Agrofest," she said.
One of their more popular clients, East Point Dairies Inc., introduced patrons to two new products – My Milk, a pasteurised and homogenised full cream milk and Mauby Milk, a blend of full cream milk and mauby a popular Bajan drink.
Kenneth Mullin of Cyman Foods Limited, said the products were born out of the current crisis dairy farmers were experiencing due to the reduced milk quota. Instead of dumping their milk, a number of farmers partnered with East Point Dairies Inc. and Cyman Foods Limited which has a pasteuriser, to create the new products.
"We are working with the farmers, [and] taking the milk from them, [and] processing, [it] and then East Point Dairies is responsible for promoting the products and introducing them to the marketplace. We’ve had a very good response to the products so far. We are now starting to roll them out," he said.