Mr. Peter Serieux

• 
  www.htsstlucia.com/2008_News/March/HTS_News_March_28th_ - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/28/2008    Last Visited: 3/28/2008  

  TQF Managing Director , Peter Serieux , says that is a decision that did not have to be made.
  ...
  Serieux says it was the banana companies - now out in the cold - who certified them.
  
  Serieux says banana companies like him are caught in the middle.And while he thinks the SLBC would be successful if they were to sue WIBDCO over its decision , it is not a route he will take.He says he will await his certification and take it from there in terms of representing his members.

• 
  www.acpsec.org/pr/current_pr.htm - [Cached Version]
  Last Visited: 3/11/2007  

  Peter Serieux, general manager of Top Quality Fruit, one of the main banana trading companies here, said all this created a cloud of uncertainty in small banana-producing countries like St Lucia and undermined the confidence of growers in the future of the industry.
  
  Business devastated
  
  "All of a sudden, the prices that farmers were used to earning were drastically reduced, "Mr Serieux added.
  ...
  Peter Serieux, general manager of Top Quality Fruit Company
  
  Another effect of the decline of bananas has been the hundreds of young men who previously worked the farms but are now unemployed.
  
  Some have turned to dealing in drugs, the only other "commodity" that is able to bring in quick cash the way bananas once did.
  
  But according to Mr Serieux, there have been some positive effects of globalisation.
  
  Those farmers who have stayed in the business, he describes as "hard core and genuine".It is they, he said, who are now producing the quality of bananas that the market is demanding.
  
  "All the new standards the market has imposed, we have met them, although at greater cost to farmers", Serieux said, adding that the future of the industry now seems to lie in exporting under the "fair trade" label.

• 
  Article number 1 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/15/2005    Last Visited: 3/15/2005  

  Mr. Peter Serieux is the Managing Director of the Tropical Quality Fruit Company (TQFC).His company was formed not long after the banana industry came to a major crossroad, which radically changed the way it has operated since then.
  ...
  Serieux says one of the main problems that has plagued the industry since privatization, relates to its human resource.He says too many farmers are still in the ‘association' mode.
  ...
  Farmers were not adequately prepared as to what privatization means to him," Serieux explained.
  
  He says fragmentation is another problem that has surfaced due to the privatization of the industry, and has deteriorated the industry into operating by units, and this has been very detrimental where a collaborative effort was needed to tackle problems, which threatened the well being of the industry.
  
  "For example, the problem of leaf spot is best dealt with collectively, but until lately, there was no support mechanism, not even by legislation.It is impossible to bring the farmers under one umbrella for contribution towards the control of leaf spot."
  
  According to Mr. Serieux, this caused the industry to pay a heavy price in 2001 when annual production dropped to 34,353 tonnes - the lowest it has ever been.The widespread infestation of fields by leaf spot during that year caused many farmers to abandon their crops, which then became even more favourable breeding grounds for the disease.
  
  "The government has a responsibility under such circumstances to help curb the disease.The farmer has a responsibility to keep the plant in a healthy condition as this decreases susceptibility towards contracting diseases, and the company has the responsibility to do the leaf spot spraying.These have to work hand in hand," informs Mr. Serieux.
  
  He said this had not been happening, and there was reluctance on the part of financiers to provide the necessary support.All of these factors combined to produce a depletion in the industry's capacity to get the disease under control.
  
  Farmers who try to dodge the repayment of loans given to them for production, is a problem this industry has had to deal with.Mr. Serieux says banana companies give loans to farmers to start production, but when the fruit is harvested, they sell them to vying companies which are unable to provide them with further financing, so their levels of production decline.
  
  But recently, positive signs have been emerging in the banana industry on the local front.Mr. Serieux says that since 2004, commercial regulatory measures have started being introduced."We are now beginning to use the properties of commercialization to bring order to the industry.The farmers are now beginning to recognize the value of credit in sustaining them as viable producers, and they are now beginning to recognize the consequences of evading the repayment of their loans," he says.
  
  WIBDECO will now take on the responsibility of procurement of essential material needed for leafspot control, which it will then sell to the local banana companies at reasonable prices.The organization has decided to intervene because as an exporter, it will also suffer if the leaf spot disease is not controlled.
  
  Serieux however laments the loss the industry suffered before coming to this point."This transition from a monopolistic mindset to a commercial one has cost the industry 40% of its production.The market share is still there, but production has declined due to this transition," he says.
  
  The "Fair Trade" initiative may be a motivational factor in helping farmers to increase production and perhaps in encouraging those who have deemed the industry a hopeless endeavour and therefore left, to reconsider re-entering the industry.This is an initiative by the National Fair Trade Organization.It aims to give a fair deal to small producers, who unlike the large conglomerates in South America, have more equitable distribution of net market returns.The consumers pay more for the fruit, but they sell them on the idea that they are contributing to the improvement of the way of life of a small farmer in a Third World country.
  
  Serieux says that initially the supermarkets were reluctant, but as consumer demands increased, they had no choice but to go along with the fair trade arrangement.He says there is still more potential for growth in this niche market, and there are also higher returns when farmers sell under this label.
  
  Serieux also feels that the implementation of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy will not have a significant effect on banana production in the region.

• 
  Article number 1 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/11/2004    Last Visited: 3/11/2004  

  But Managing Director of the Tropical Quality Fruit Company (TQFC), Peter Serieux, is even more optimistic about 2004, saying that the indicators point to a production year of over 50,000 tonnes in St. Lucia.Despite the disappointments of 2003, especially the dumping of tonnes of fruit during the last two weeks, Serieux is encouraged by the initiatives being taken to increase production, the motivation of banana farmers and encouraging yields per acre.
  ...
  Dumping, Peter Serieux of TQFC argues, is a consequence of bad management.Regarding the latest dumping incident, Serieux points out that the Christmas and New Year's period (which coincides with weeks 49 & 50 in the industry) are noted for slow trading of fruit and the industry loses money because of bigger harvests, which cannot always be accepted in full for export.Serieux says the understanding between the banana companies and WIBDECO is to reduce shipments by half.But the companies received a day's notice for a higher allocation for week 50, a request Serieux says came too late.Serieux says that WIBDECO should appreciate that week 51, the week immediately before Christmas, has special financial significance for many people, moreso banana farmers, who go all out to harvest fruit.In the past, overgrade bananas has also been an issue during that time of year.
  ...
  "Technically speaking, it's WIBDECO's loss," snapped Serieux, adding that under the 2002 "free at reception" (FAR) agreement, responsibility for the fruit at reception changes from the banana companies to WIBDECO."We have a contract with an agreed price…once WIBDECO accepts the fruit at reception they pay us an agreed price.Whatever happens after that is WIBDECO's problem," Serieux contends.

• 
  Article number 4 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/19/2005    Last Visited: 9/19/2005  

  "Fair Trade bananas are sold directly to large supermarkets in the U.K at premium prices and is specifically designed to help small farmers," observes the General Manager of the Tropical Quality Fruit Company (TQFC), Peter Serieux, who warns that farmers and industry officials here ought not to sit back and depend on people overseas to lobby on their behalf.
  ...
  Serieux sees this as a positive sign in favour of continued protection of ACP supplies.
  ...
  "I don't believe that a tariff-only system will be implemented because it may not have the desired effect," says Serieux, who suspects that Latin American producers are worried about a tariff-only system of trade in bananas because of the advantage it might give to some African countries with larger production scales and cheaper labour costs.

• 
  BBC NEWS | Americas | St Lucia's declining banana trade - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 8/2/2005    Last Visited: 8/2/2005  

  Peter Serieux, general manager of Top Quality Fruit, one of the main banana trading companies here, said all this created a cloud of uncertainty in small banana-producing countries like St Lucia and undermined the confidence of growers in the future of the industry.
  
  Business devastated
  
  "All of a sudden, the prices that farmers were used to earning were drastically reduced, "Mr Serieux added.
  ...
  Peter Serieux, general manager of Top Quality Fruit Company
  
  Another effect of the decline of bananas has been the hundreds of young men who previously worked the farms but are now unemployed.
  
  Some have turned to dealing in drugs, the only other "commodity" that is able to bring in quick cash the way bananas once did.
  
  But according to Mr Serieux, there have been some positive effects of globalisation.
  
  Those farmers who have stayed in the business, he describes as "hard core and genuine".It is they, he said, who are now producing the quality of bananas that the market is demanding.
  
  "All the new standards the market has imposed, we have met them, although at greater cost to farmers", Serieux said, adding that the future of the industry now seems to lie in exporting under the "fair trade" label.

• 
  Banana farmers concerned - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/7/2002    Last Visited: 2/24/2002  

  Managing Director of the Tropical Quality Fruit Company Peter Serieux has confirmed that the WIBDECO decision was unilateral.
  
  According to the farmers, this latest move smells of an industry take over by WIBDECO, of which very little benefits would reach them.The farmers also contend that the four banana purchasing companies in St. Lucia are yet to meet with them on the issue.
  
  An official of the Banana Salvation Marketing Company said that the Government of St. Lucia must move now to effect the critically needed changes in the WIBDECO's management structure.He called for an independent financial and personnel audit to be carried out, prior to the implementation of any changes, and that the pros and cons of the new shipping schedule be also examined.

• 
  HTS Channel 4: St Lucia News, Online News, Breaking... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/17/2007    Last Visited: 1/25/2007  

  Peter Serieux is the Director of local banana company, Total Quality Fruit Company.He says he is disappointed that WIBDECO has blamed banana companies for over 23,000 tonnes of bananas being left to rot in the first two weeks of the year.
  
  WIBDECO says the fruit was abandoned because the local companies' production projection was way off for that period.Serieux says the situation occurred because of a December 2nd statement by WIBDECO Chairman Bernard Cornibert.
  ...
  Serieux also expressed disappointment with what he says is a bad start to the year.He says banana farmers are the losers when confusion exists between WIBDECO and local companies.He called on WIBDECO to clear up the confusion.
  
  Serieux is also speaking to the contract that exists between WIBDECO and the companies.He says that contract stipulates that fruit would sell for more in these first 26 weeks.

• 
  Lead Story - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/18/2005    Last Visited: 1/18/2005  

  According to General Manager of TQFC, Peter Serieux, Hurricane Ivan's close brush with St. Lucia and leafspot infestation - accounted for shortfalls of about 18% and 3%, respectively.
  
  "During the last quarter farmers were forced to cutback some of their production because our management of leafspot was not what it should be," Serieux told The Mirror."As a matter of fact, we are still under threat (from leafspot) and we are too slow to bring our act together."
  
  While leafspot is not entirely preventable, it is controllable, if farmers get the necessary inputs on time, rather than after an outbreak of the disease, Dorseide said.
  
  Serieux suggested that the loose business environment in the industry may be contributing to the recurring problems with leafspot."We have to recognise that the responsibility to control leafspot is a lot bigger than the farmer, especially in an environment where you have so many privatized companies that are free to go along, or not go along with what is in the interest of all," he argued.
  
  Despite the dramatic fall in production from 135,291 in 1992 to 33,972 in 2003, St. Lucia continues to produce about 55% of the total output for the Windward Islands.St. Lucia's dominant position continued last year, despite increased cost of production which had the effect of reducing prices to the farmers.For example, in the last six months, according to Serieux, the cost per bag of fertilizer increased by about 38% and blue diothene by about 15%.
  
  But farmers had good weather on their side and were able to raise production, despite other inhibiting factors.The TQFC hopes that the good weather conditions continue in 2005, but Serieux is worried about the impact of leafspot on production.In view of this, the TQFC has carefully revised its overall projection for St. Lucia from 48,935 to 47,921.
  
  "I am looking at the negative effects of leafspot that are taking place now," he said."We will have some losses because I am not confident that we have the disease under control.We don't know, but if the weather holds like last year and we make use of the irrigation system in case of drought, we may not get to the stage where we were in 2003."
  
  Consistency of production is crucial to maintaining farmers' confidence in the future of the banana industry, Serieux said.

• 
  News - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/4/2002    Last Visited: 4/24/2003  

  While representatives of WIBDECO UK were meeting UK Customs officials on Friday to discuss the situation, Peter Serieux, Manager Director of Top Quality Fruit Company here expressed concern about the impact of the drugs find on the regional industry.He said although not the first incident of its kind, it was bound to have negative implications for the Windward banana industry since every box of bananas received from the islands, could very well be viewed by UK authorities with a measure of suspicion."This cannot be anything but more bad news for an industry that has suffered so much in recent times.It is the type of reputation that the industry does not need," he said.

Page:  1 2