The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and regional partners have set out five priority actions to improve the movement of food by sea between Caribbean states, saying the problem lies as much in thin cargo volumes and border delays as in a shortage of ships.

The priorities came out of a session on maritime logistics, food security and agricultural trade at Caribbean Week of Agriculture 2026, held at Ocean Coral Spring Resort in Trelawny, Jamaica. Ekaterina Krivonos, chief for Latin America and the Caribbean at the FAO Investment Centre, gave the example of a container of sweet potatoes shipped from Barbados to Guyana through Trinidad and Tobago. The sea journey can take five to seven days, she said, while customs clearance alone can take as long as 10 or 11 days.

“The region has shipping options,” Krivonos said. “They can surely be improved, but also there is too little dependable cargo and too much friction moving that cargo across borders.”

The first priority is to pool production and cargo so that shipping services have enough predictable volume to be viable. FAO said this would need national and regional consolidation mechanisms, market information systems and digital platforms, supported by production forecasts, consistent quality standards and firmer arrangements between buyers and suppliers.

The second is targeted investment in vessels suited to the trade, port upgrades, warehouses and refrigerated storage, sized to actual and projected trade volumes.

The third is to digitise and simplify customs, port and sanitary and phytosanitary procedures. FAO said electronic SPS certification could cut clearance times, particularly for fresh and perishable goods.

The fourth is a mix of shipping models in place of a single regional solution. Larger commercial and feeder services would be combined with smaller vessels and ferry-type services on lower-volume routes.

The fifth is to shift from studies to implementation. Participants proposed a regional maritime logistics and transport investment framework to identify and rank investment-ready projects, blending public and development financing with more private sector participation. No cost estimate, timeline or lead agency was given.

Panellists also pointed to poor coordination along supply chains, insufficient cold storage, and ageing fleets with limited refrigeration among the small vessels that carry trade between islands.

FAO said investments should also build resilience, with vessel capacity, port operations and contingency arrangements able to keep food moving during disruptions and emergencies.

The session included representatives of the CARICOM Secretariat, the Caribbean Development Bank, the CARICOM Development Fund, the European Union, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, United Nations Trade and Development and the World Food Programme.

The statement did not attribute specific commitments to any of those institutions.

FAO said it would continue working with governments, regional institutions and development partners on maritime connectivity and regional agrifood trade.