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Abstract

Small ruminant products marketed in the Caribbean may be classified as primary products - live animals, undifferentiated meat cuts —and value added products — prime meat cuts, processed milk products, and leather products. Prime meat cuts and processed milk products are usually distributed through upscale markets. Traditionally, the primary products have been marketed through personal arrangements, itinerant traffickers and butchers, auctioning, parochial markets and roadside butchers' stalls. However, a pilot test-market project undertaken in Trinidad in 1997 and a survey of acceptability of local goat meat by chefs in Jamaica in 2001 showed great potential for upscaling the marketing of small ruminant products to the supermarkets and the hospitality industry. In order for the local small ruminant industry to tap into the upscale markets a number of constraints have to be addressed. This paper discusses the avenues for marketing small ruminant products in the Caribbean and the challenges for upscaling the marketing (e.g., inadequate production base, consistency of supply, farmer loyalty, product quality, support services such as master butcher service, product development and packaging and presentation).

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