Agriculture was never part of the plan for Marlon St. Louis. His background was in telecommunications, but that changed when he spotted an opportunity close to home: exporting soursop.
Prized for its exceptional sweetness, creamy texture and nutritional value, Grenadian soursop has found a growing market abroad. The island is officially certified free of harmful pests like the Annona fruit borer and the soursop seed borer, which keeps valuable export markets open to its fresh produce.
In 2020, Marlon established his own export business in Grenada, buying soursops directly from 62 farmers and providing them with a reliable market. “I pay the farmers immediately, so they know that if they produce the fruit, there is someone committed to buying it,” he says.
His team supplies sanitized harvest crates, collects the fruit and records information to ensure traceability. At the packing house, 12 workers wash, sanitize, grade and pack the soursop before shipment.
Before sunrise, the refrigerated trucks equipped with up to 12 000 pounds of Grenada's prized soursop make their way to the airport to begin their journey to supermarket shelves. Every shipment is accompanied by freshness tags, providing buyers with confidence in the fruit's quality, traceability, and Grenadian origin.
Marlon’s support for the farmers goes beyond buying their produce. Through FAO-supported initiatives, he helps farmers access training on international food safety and quality requirements.
In 2026, Marlon’s business was selected as an FAO-supported pilot to pursue GLOBALG.A.P. certification, an internationally recognized farm assurance standard covering food safety and responsible agricultural production that can help producers meet international market requirements and maintain access to export markets.
“This process is pushing us to tighten our operations and be more consistent across the board,” Marlon says. “It will be challenging, but it's exactly what we need to grow and compete in more demanding markets.”
As another shipment leaves Grenada, the boxes carry more than fruit: they carry the work of farming families, the support from Marlon’s team and the promise of Grenadian agriculture reaching further into global markets.
