Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 3rd Edition

81 Our Competitive Advantage

T he misty-eyed, slow rhythmical melody adopted by the Mighty Gabby in depicting the market scene in Bridgetown belies the hectic, fast-paced, trading, bartering and haggling that occurs in the process of bringing agricultural produce to the markets of the Caribbean. While these women are generally the public face of such market scenes, they are also the very hidden face of intraregional trade. We call them hawkers, higglers, hucksters, traffickers, merchantas and Madam Saras; or, as we homogenise and sanitise them, Informal Commercial Importers (ICIs). Regional trade in agricultural produce has a long historical legacy when homefield surplus was traded in weekend markets, and later transported to other islands. This trade has, since the 1970s, been complemented by the suitcase trade ; trade inmanufactured goods (shoes, clothing, jewellery, small appliances). This inter-regional and inter- generational cycle of exporting and importing, whether it be in yams or clothing, is dominated by the women of the region. The romanticised image portrayed of the Bridgetown market as reflecting simpler times belies the complex supply chain within which women in the Caribbean have and continue to operate to bring goods to market, and supply underserved regional countries. These traders are critical in the supply chain, providing work for ‘truckers, packers, boat owners, farmers, crate makers, shipping agents and others’ . 3 St. Cyr (1991 4 ) notes that no formal education was needed to navigate these various relationships, but that success was based on ‘personal qualities… including intelligence, physical strength, personal interaction skills, courtesy, patience, persistence, and ability to manage money’ (p.9); it appears that St. Cyr is speaking of an entrepreneur, not a petty trader. Indeed, Jamaican higglers have been called ‘the most enterprising and resourceful group of entrepreneurs in the country’. 5 Dealing with uncertainty and risk lies at the heart of entrepreneurship, and these women are indeed entrepreneurs. They take risks, both financially and with their personal safety. In addition to risking their savings in the purchase of produce that could spoil or not sell, or be confiscated on arrival, long voyages by sea are often followed by sleeping in markets overnight, exposing them to the threat of theft. The dangerous working conditions these women are exposed to is also seen with ‘the inadequate and inappropriate boating facilities’ they are forced to endure, sadly demonstrated in the drowning death of 10 Dominican hucksters in 1990 6 . In 2013, the flagship vessel of the huckster trade in Dominica sank; while no lives were lost, all produce on board was. Women ICIs served the development of the region at the grassroots level, as well as providing for their families and many others along their complex supply chains. But the new Caribbean economy needs more, and yet again, women entrepreneurs are playing a critical role.

‘Bridgetown early, Saturday morning, see de women, how they calling, singing, come for ya breadfruit, come for ya corn, come for de apples, fresh as de morn, come for banana, come for po-ta-ta, come for de guava, de guava, de guava...’ “Bridgetown” (Mighty Gabby, 1978) 2 .