Some 25 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America have joined forces and signed a declaration of cooperation, ensuring that food is not lacking in the region during the coronavirus global pandemic.

Ministers and secretaries of agriculture, livestock, fishing, food and rural development from each nation signed the pact, committing to coordinating the supply of sufficient, safe and nutritious food for its 620 million inhabitants, Dominican Today reported.

There is no current need for alarm, the group stressed, as the region’s markets have enough food to ensure supplies. Global stocks of major foods are at a good level, and harvests in major producing countries have been good.

“Unlike previous crises, the food supply has remained stable in the world and in our region,” the group said in a statement. “Therefore, there are no reasons to justify significant increases in international food prices, so we call on all actors in the food system to prevent speculation at this time of emergency. However, if the pandemic spreads over time, food supply chains will come under increased pressure. In this sense, if all countries strive to keep local, national, regional and global supply chains operating, we can ensure food in a sustainable way for the entire population.”

Presumably, this also includes preparing for the return of tourists when the virus finally dies down.

According to ForwardKeys, which analyses global aviation capacity, flight searches and over 17 million flight booking transactions a day, tourism to the Caribbean grew by 4.4 percent in 2019.

Analysis of the most important origin markets shows that the increase in visitors was driven by North America, with travel from the U.S. (which accounts for 53 percent of visitors) up 6.5 percent, and travel from Canada up 12.2 percent.

The gains are likely to be wiped away by the global impact of the virus, which has curtailed travel worldwide.

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