Traders urged to seize CARIFESTA XV opportunities

Entrepreneurs have been urged by Foreign Trade Minister Kerrie Symmonds to capitalise on the influx of visitors attending CARIFESTA XV, using the festival as a springboard to expand exports and strengthen the country’s battered foreign exchange position and trade deficit.

Symmonds on Monday issued a challenge to micro, small, medium and large-sized entrepreneurs to assist further in expanding Barbados’ services and export trade, with thousands of visitors from across the globe currently “on our doorstep” for the regional arts and culture festival.

“CARIFESTA, essentially, is an opportunity to showcase Barbados in all of its facets,” Symmonds,  the senior minister for the productive sector, told Barbados TODAY. “We have in excess of 3 000 visitors here as the representatives of the participating nations’ delegations. But in addition to that, we also have other visitors here, some of whom have come here from several Latin American, African and Caribbean nations at this time to coincide with the festival and others whose visit is purely coincidental.”

But he contended that whatever the circumstances that brought these people to Barbados at this time, they are able to get a firsthand experience of the nation’s culture, hospitality and services.

“As a country that is seeking to increase our foreign exchange earnings by expanding its services and exports, we are now benefiting from the opportunity to market skills, craft and cultural products and related services to a wide-ranging global audience,” the foreign trade minister added.

Symmonds, addressing the business community, from the smallest to the largest owner or operator said: “My message would be to try to maximise this opportunity with so many thousands of visitors on our doorstep, to showcase the best of all we have to offer, and to see this as an opportunity to reinvest in ourselves and our business future.”

Barbados is not only marketing intangible cultural products such as music to other regional states, North and South America, and Africa, but also tangible goods, including domestically manufactured merchandise, he said.

Symmonds suggested this was a unique opportunity to improve the country’s balance of trade with its Caribbean Community neighbours.

In the first six months of 2024, Barbados recorded a visible trade deficit with CARICOM of $411.1 million. The deficit widened compared to the same period in 2023.

• Imports from CARICOM were valued at $568.9 million, an increase of 6.5 per cent over the first half of 2023.

• Exports to CARICOM were valued at $157.8 million, marking a decrease of 7.9 per cent compared to the same period last year.

This substantial trade deficit should be a strong motivator for entrepreneurs to capitalise on new trade and export opportunities presented by CARIFESTA XV, according to the government.

Beyond CARICOM, Barbados continues to face a significant overall trade deficit as a result of its reliance on imports for consumer and capital goods.

For the wider Barbados economy, data from the United Nations show that between January and August last year, the total visible trade deficit stood at $2.21 billion, while in 2023, the total merchandise trade deficit was $1.662 billion.

Growth in tourism and financial services—major service exports—helped to offset the large merchandise trade deficit. 

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb