Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced plans to develop a new Central Marketing Corporation (CMC) complex designed to reduce food imports, lower consumer prices and strengthen Antigua and Barbuda's food security.
According to Antigua News Room, Browne outlined the initiative during an appearance on Pointe FM's Browne and Browne Show, describing a broad strategy to expand local food production and processing while improving the availability of affordable goods.
"We have to prepare ourselves… to make sure that we can sustain ourselves and at the same time to make sure that we can produce good quality and affordable produce and meats," Browne said.
At the centre of the project is a plan to transform CMC into what the prime minister described as a comprehensive "food emporium" — a single distribution and processing hub connecting farmers, vendors and consumers.
The government has already acquired the former Kennedy's Club property at Cassada Gardens for $9 million, securing 5.5 acres for the main complex. "We have already bought the facility… it's on five and a half acres," Browne said.
The site is set to include a supermarket, farmers' market, cold and dry storage facilities, and agro-processing units designed to handle locally grown produce and meats. "CMC will have the necessary storage facilities… agro-processing facilities, cold storage, dry storage," Browne said, adding that the system will allow farmers to bring their goods directly to market.
A key component of the plan involves expanding meat production through new chicken and pork abattoirs at Piers, where construction is already underway. "These abattoirs will be equipped… so we can cut up the chicken into parts and sell fresh chicken parts," Browne said, noting that small farmers would also have access to the facilities to process their livestock.
To further drive down production costs, the government is also planning to establish a feed mill aimed at reducing dependence on imported animal feed and making locally produced meat more price-competitive. "We also will be establishing a feed mill… to drive down the costs," he said.
In the near term, Browne said CMC is working with a supplier in the United Kingdom to import more affordable food products, with shipments expected within months. "That should start within a matter of months," he said.
Browne argued that the combined approach — scaling up domestic production while sourcing lower-cost imports — would help stabilise food prices and shield consumers from global price pressures, including rising tariffs in key markets. "Imports continue to increase… and you never can tell," he warned, cautioning that external price shocks could worsen without viable local alternatives.
The prime minister said the expanded CMC system is intended to reduce the country's overall import bill, improve foreign exchange balances and ensure a more reliable national food supply.
Browne also pointed to his own agricultural operations as a model for scalable local production, noting that his farm produces approximately 150 pigs per month under modern standards.
"This is just going to be quite a beautiful food emporium… to accommodate our farmers and to have CMC import more produce and meats at an affordable price," he said.
The prime minister described the initiative as part of a broader effort to modernise agriculture, support small businesses and improve living standards across Antigua and Barbuda.
