Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 3rd Edition

Trade & Export Hot Spots 52

Regional Challenges Due to its diversity and size, engagement in Southeast Asia has beendifficult largely inpart to logistics and previous language barriers. What was perceived as a culturally diverse and difficult region a few decades ago is now a common misconception by those who have not yet visited it. For example, the individuality between Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines normally ends with their native languages as these countries share many similar customs and traditions. Strong Western influence has affected Southeast Asia dramatically in the last decade to the point that advertising commercials are either bilingual or even completely in English. It is not difficult to find an English-speaking local even in remote places. Language is not the only area influenced by this penetration but also there is now a strong demand for Western clothing, food, technology, etc. Direct engagement by Caribbean exporters into the ASEAN region will not be substantially difficult as the cultural differences are not inherently different from the Caribbean. These countries have been greatly influenced by Spanish, British, Dutch, French and American colonization, which is very similar to the Caribbean as well.

attributed its success as well for the exact same reason. In both instances, they were established by non-Caribbean nationals. The absence of authentic Caribbean restaurants in the region is an unexplored sector. Moreover, Southeast Asians love their spicy food with all the member countries of the ASEAN having many types of hot and spicy dishes. Thailand’s “Sriracha sauce” became a world-renowned product because of the regular need of the Thai people to always have spicy food. This high demand for hot sauce in Southeast Asia is an open market that can easily be penetrated by Caribbean food exporters that can carve their own niche.

Caribbean ASEAN Council

Local Knowledge The recently instituted Caribbean ASEAN Council and its secretariat, the Eastern Caribbean-Southeast Asia Economic and Cultural Chamber (a part of the SIDS Global Business Network administered by the UN- OHRLLS), are officially the first non-governmental entities to connect the Caribbean to the Southeast Asian region. These organizations provide on-the-ground insight in major ASEAN economies and perform a wide array of management consultancy services including local representation, market research, resource mobilization, events implementation and business development to name a few. Caribbean firms and government stakeholders can take advantage of its full-time team and allied subject matter experts located in Southeast Asia to develop the advantages of engaging in this economic giant. To connect, support and join, visit www.ecseachamber.org and www.caribbeanaseancouncil.org.

Digital Economy Engagement The future of many nations rests largely on how they participate in the Digital Economy. Caribbean financial technology or “fintech” firms have the advantage to engage in the ASEAN region where mobile phone and smartphone penetration are in the hundreds of millions. Cryptocurrencies, blockchain and the like is a universal growth sector. Bitcoin has been an approved currency for trade use in Japan. The Marshall Islands have gone the extra mile and legislated their own cryptocurrency as their country’s “official” currency. The Caribbean's exports in technology should not be limited to business process outsourcing but rather engagement in innovating the technology itself. With the Caribbean’s decades of experience in the financial services sector, it can pioneer this area of the digital economy.

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