 With an increase in need to address the vulnerability of St. Lucia's agriculture sector, a St. Lucia delegation led by Ministers for Agriculture Honourable Alfred Prosper and Commerce Honourable Emma Hippolit visited the United Kingdom to explore opportunities for export diversification in the UK market. The delegation met with export stakeholders, including representatives of Hotel Chocolat, who committed to working with the St. Lucia government to expand the country's cocoa production. According to Honourable Emma Hippolit, while there are many opportunities for agriculture, manufacturing and other services, St. Lucia producers must ensure that their products meet international quality standards. The whole issue of sustainability in terms of how we produce the crop, how we do not use harsh chemicals and all of this was very much front and centre and it is an issue that we have to look at. The whole issue of sustainability and what we use, how we use it, our record keeping is critical for the agricultural sector and we need to do all in our power and again that is where within the Ministry of Commerce we have our Bureau of Standards and hoping that they could engage the sector, the agricultural sector in a big way to ensure that we meet the international standards. Minister Hippolit says the delegation also engaged other stakeholders with a view of creating jobs, accelerating growth and finding ways to foster the foreign direct investment and private sector investment the country needs. We also had the opportunity to meet with the High Commission of Canada. We were able to meet with the UK Prime Minister Trade Envoy, so we discussed trade between UK and St. Lucia. We were also able to meet with the Minister for Transport of Qatar who asked for a meeting and we had significant conversation looking at possible ways what is in St. Lucia, how they can invest in St. Lucia. So all in all I believe it was a very fruitful trip. Our responsibility now is to pick up on all the leads and to see how all of our people benefit from it. With the current setbacks in the banana export market, Minister for Agriculture Hon. Alfred Prosper emphasises the importance of diversifying exports and expanding manufacturing exports where comparative advantage exists. That there is still hope but it must understand for us to continue making business with the supermarkets in the UK. It is about quality, it is about what the supermarkets require and I want to call on our farmers to ensure that this remain the highest priority for them if we have to continue to remain in this sector. Minister Prosper pledges the government's support in ensuring that St. Lucia producers receive the necessary assistance to strengthen their export capabilities with a focus on ensuring that St. Lucia producers take full advantage of all sector opportunities in the international market. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, I am Anisia Antoine reporting.