BHTA and BAS team up to better respond to supply shortages

With recent egg shortages and past supply chain disruptions exposing gaps in the link between tourism demand and local agricultural production, the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) is working with the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to improve coordination between the two sectors.

This initiative aims to have hotels plan their menus based on the seasonal availability of local produce, while farmers provide timely updates on what they can supply.

During the BHTA’s Quarterly Media Briefing on Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer Ryan Forde said the project is underway to better match hotel and restaurant demand with available supplies from farmers, reducing the risk of shortages affecting the hospitality industry.

Pointing to the association’s interest in data sharing, he said, “If we can understand hotels’ and restaurants’ usual demand, that information needs to be shared with farmers.

“But in return, the farmers must provide data on what they can actually supply. This type of planning is key to managing shortages.”

Forde further referenced a sweet potato shortage in 2022 as an example of how a lack of coordination can impact both farmers and businesses.

“Two summers ago, sweet potatoes were a big issue in Barbados. If everyone is growing the same crop and demand spikes, you run into shortages but if we plan together—hotels designing menus around seasonal availability and farmers signalling what they can produce—we can avoid these disruptions,” he said.

The push for closer collaboration between agriculture and tourism comes even as BAS plans to import 600 000 eggs to address a current shortage which officials have attributed to soaring demand from the booming tourism industry.

In response, Forde said discussions began last year between BHTA, BAS, and IICA, alongside the tourism liaison officer and operations manager, to establish a structured approach where both sectors share real-time data to improve planning.

“The joint sharing of data is definitely key, and that is something we’ve been working on since last year,” he said, noting that the recent egg shortage has reinforced the need for better forecasting.

He further acknowledged that while hotels and restaurants rely on steady supplies, farmers also need clarity on long-term demand before expanding production.

“If we were to say, ‘Okay, for this month, eggs may be tight, but here’s an alternative product we can push instead,’ it would help everyone plan better,” he said.

The challenge, he noted, is that Barbados still lacks a formal system for ongoing data-sharing between tourism businesses and agricultural suppliers.

Forde stressed that the issue goes beyond food supply, as poor data-sharing affects multiple industries.

“The sharing of data has been a continuous issue, not just in agriculture but across the public and private sectors. We collect all this information, but if it’s not used strategically, it just sits there. If we use it positively, then the world is Barbados’ oyster, as they say,” he said.

Forde told reporters that the goal is to create a structured process where hotels, restaurants, and farmers can forecast supply and demand more accurately.

“This is an ongoing discussion, but the important thing is that we are working towards solutions that will benefit both industries,” he said. (SM)