Barbados plans major cotton export revival with private partner

Barbados is preparing to enter into a partnership with a foreign private investor for the production of its renowned West Indian Sea Island Cotton, in an imminent deal expected to deliver a major lift to export earnings and revitalise the island’s historic cotton industry, Barbados TODAY has learnt.

Although a date has not yet been identified for the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU), Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir disclosed on Friday that the deal will see Barbados earning substantial foreign exchange, with a cotton price expected to far exceed what the country receives for most export products.

“I know a hundred acres of land was prepared, and they are now working out how much of that they are going to plant up, and we are at the stage of doing an MOU with the private entity that they are going to take control of the cotton industry. And, they will be producing the cotton that they need to export,” Weir told Barbados TODAY.

“We started with what we have this year, and then we will ramp up next year as high as they can possibly accommodate,” the minister said, as preparations pick up for the start of harvesting the 2026 cotton crop, beginning between February and March.

He would not reveal the value of the arrangement but declared that it would provide greater financial benefits for farmers, pickers and the economy as a whole.

“The investors will also look at how much they are being paid, and we will have better options in terms of getting the cotton picked. I can’t disclose how they will be paid yet, but it’s going to be higher than what they are currently getting,” the agriculture minister stated, adding that existing pay is around $2 or $3 per pound of lint.

“We would like to see a minimum of 500 acres, and that is what we are going to plan to reach next year. Cotton is sold for us at quite a high price. I think it is somewhere around $30-something a pound. I don’t know the figure offhand, but it is quite high…higher than most things that we sell. And the fact now that we have people coming to do the expansion of the industry, it gives us a chance to make sure that we secure high on the industry.”

The 2025 crop is being used to build a seed bank that would facilitate next year’s export drive, he added.

Weir said, “You can’t get to hundreds of acres without building up a seed bank. When the sugar industry transitioned, the only person who was planting cotton was BADMC. So, you didn’t have cotton planted because we transitioned to a private sugar industry, and therefore, we had to find an alternate plan for cotton. So, what we did was plant enough to build up a seed bank.“

“Now that we have investors at the table, we would expand that, and that also will be private.”

The West Indian Sea Island Cotton variety grown in Barbados, G. barbadense, is regarded as the highest grade, due mainly to the fibre’s length, strength and silkiness.

It is mainly exported and transformed into exquisite apparel that is luxurious to the touch and highly durable.

The commodity has been grown in this country since the early colonial period, when Barbadian planters inherited the crop from the indigenous Arawaks. By the 1650s, Barbados had become the first island in the British West Indies to export cotton to Europe.

Cotton was a major cash crop in the region before sugar dominated cultivation.

The development of the cotton industry has been marked by controversy and fluctuating fortunes. In the early 1990s, the government established the Caribbean Sea Island Cotton Company (CARSICOT) as a joint venture with private investors to revitalise the industry. The initiative was later plagued by scandal, including allegations of government interference, waste and mismanagement.

The industry has since experienced periods of growth and decline, with efforts to rebrand and market Barbados Sea Island Cotton facing multiple challenges.

Despite its reputation for luxurious fibre, the industry has struggled with limited production, pest infestations, and labour shortages. Previous attempts at revival have been met with scepticism in the private sector.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb