Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 3rd Edition

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It is important to do so while continuing to support the traditional sectors as these continue to be the ‘bread and butter’ for our economies. Tourism still contributes significantly to employment and GDP. For example, in Barbados and The Bahamas, tourism contributed to 40.5% and 55.7% of total employment and 13% and 19% of total GDP respectively in 2017. 2 Inordinate opportunities await us if we can catch the vision. It is time for our governments to acknowledge our ocean as an important economic driver. Grenada’s Blue Growth Coastal Master Plan is a step in the right direction towards leveraging the blue economy. It is time to explore new forms of seafood harvesting, consider the generation of off-shore renewable energy through wind, wave and tidal energy, and transform trade and transportation on our seas to benefit our private sector. We must make a serious commitment to support the growth of the green economy because our private sector urgently needs cheaper and cleaner energy solutions. The Caribbean currently uses petroleum (80%) as its primary energy source which is more than double that of the world average. 3 The private sector needs a supportive policy environment that incentivizes renewable energy development and that sends the signal that renewable energy and energy efficiency strategies are priority. Grant or concessionary loan facilities are also critical to enable the diffusion of new technologies across homes and businesses, for national impact. The third pillar representative of the creative sector is equally as critical for us. UNCTAD in 2012 estimated that creative services generated US $547 billion and in 2015 accounted for 29.5 million jobs globally and 1.9 million in Latin America and the Caribbean. What if the Caribbean could begin to leverage its oceans, climatic conditions and creativity to begin unleashing new growth engines?What if the ocean could generate sufficient energy to power our hotels? What if solar energy could revolutionize our small scale agro-processors enabling them to slash their operating expenses? What if our creative professionals could augment our existing tourism product? I am a dreamer but I do believe that this could be our reality. The thread that can pull this all together is the political will of our leaders. Can we be bold enough to put the necessary measures in place to empower the private sector to capitalize on these pivotal sectors? My faith remains strong that we can and will yet grasp the opportunities to catapult the region into the 21st century. This publication seeks to highlight our need to redefine our future, embrace new technologies and rethink the way we do business. Endnotes 1 http://www.Caribbean Economic Review, CDB 2017 and Outlook, CDB 2018. 2 Travel & Tourism Economic Impact, World Travel & Tourism Council, 2018. 3 Financing the Blue Economy; a Caribbean Development Opportunity, CDB 2018.

MESSAGE FROM THE FORMER Executive Director

PAMELA COKE -HAMI LTON

Former Executive Director, The Caribbean Export Development Agency

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he Caribbean region has a tremendous opportunity to recast its future given the increasing global interests being placed on sectors within the blue, green and orange economies; the troika of pillars fromwhich our region can leverage and drive our economic growth. From the early days of independence to date, our countries have largely leaned upon the services sectors, including tourism and financial services, agriculture, and to a lesser degree agro-processing as well as on non-renewable resources such as petroleum and bauxite to propel regional advancement. However, over the past 8 years, annual economic growth has averaged 0.8% 1 . With climate change posing an increased threattomostofoursmallislandsasreflectedinthedestructive 2017 hurricane season which left Barbuda uninhabitable and Dominica with an estimated cost of US $1.4 billion to rebuild, it is imperative that regional governments give serious consideration to economic resilience, and by extension, emerging sectors of growth. Estimates reveal that our region can lose up to 5% of its GDP within the next decade if we fail to step up our efforts at resilience.