DRAFT
Report of the
Commonwealth Secretariat/Caribbean Export
Development Agency (Caribbean Export)
Regional Workshop on Export Competitiveness
Strategies
23 – 25 May 2006
Barbados
Report of the
Commonwealth Secretariat/ Caribbean Export
Development Agency (Caribbean Export)
Regional Workshop on Export Competitiveness
Strategies
Commonwealth Secretariat
iii
Executive Summary
The Regional Workshop on Export Competitiveness was held in Barbados on May 23 –
25, 2006 at Amaryllis Hotel. This workshop was organized by the Commonwealth
Secretariat in collaboration with the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean
Export).
The objective of the workshop was to promote best practices among stakeholders in the
Commonwealth Caribbean Countries and raise awareness of the benefits of collaboration
for enhanced competitiveness.
The 46 participants and presenters were mostly high level public and private sector
officials from countries where the Commonwealth Secretariat has supported
competitiveness projects in the recent past, or where a request for technical assistance on
the subject is currently under consideration. These countries include Antigua and
Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, St. Lucia and Barbados.
The format of the workshop included country presentations, case studies and trade expert
presentations as well as work group sessions and a panel discussion and focussed on
areas such as Tourism, Professional Services, Trade Facilitation and National Export
Strategies. The country presentations highlighted several constraints to achieving the
underpinnings of national economic prosperity including the high cost of conducting
business; lack of innovative programmes; inadequate linkage between export
competitiveness programmes and the global and regional trade agenda and a lack of
representation of professional services exports.
The case studies and trade expert presentations provided valuable information on the
models, policies, practices and technology that can be adopted by the region to assist in
the development of strategies to achieve export advantage. The benefits of regional
integration and the movement of skilled labour as it relates to the CARICOM Single
Market and Economy were mentioned as fundamental to achieving regional economic
prosperity.
The workgroup sessions allowed participants to collaborate to identify the constraints to
regional competitiveness, develop strategies to overcome these challenges and to link the
strategies to actions.
The key constraints identified were a lack of a common export competitiveness vision;
insufficient dissemination of information; factors relating to productivity; insufficient
resources to promote the development of new markets; insufficient linkages between
sectors; limited access to financing; the high cost of business and inadequate transport for
goods and services. The discussion also highlighted that there was considerable confusion
between national and regional competitiveness.
iv
Participants suggested a tripartite consultative process involving the private sector, the
public sector and civil society, the setting of time lines for the implementation of
activities and the allocation of responsibilities as critical to the development of a clear
vision. Other major findings related to increasing the linkages between sectors by using a
cluster approach, deconstructing the industry in the case of tourism in addition to
conducting research to identify the supply and demand. Increasing access to financing by
diversifying financial instruments, identifying wining bankable projects and expanding
the scope of existing development banks to reduce risk were also significant
recommendations of the workshop as well as enhancing productivity through innovative
technological processes, reviewing legislation regulation and private /public sector
reform.
The workshop also provided the donor agencies with some insight into the problems
affecting the region in terms of competitiveness and allowed the participants to
understand the changing environment of the donor agencies as it relates to trade support
and inter-donor collaboration.
The workshop not only identified regional competitiveness issues but more importantly it
initiated the process to help the region overcome the challenges to regional export
competitiveness by providing the required collaborative environment and guidelines on
how to proceed.
v
Contents
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ ii
Opening Addresses ............................................................................................................. 1
Participants Expectations .............................................................................................. 3
Export Competitiveness: Getting down to Basics – Nikhil Treebhoohun .................... 4
A. Session One - Country Presentations ............................................................................ 8
Barbados ....................................................................................................................... 8
Belize ............................................................................................................................ 8
Dominica ....................................................................................................................... 9
Grenada ....................................................................................................................... 10
Jamaica........................................................................................................................ 11
St. Lucia ...................................................................................................................... 11
St. Vincent and the Grenadines ................................................................................... 12
Trinidad and Tobago ................................................................................................... 12
Antigua & Barbuda ..................................................................................................... 13
Key Issues Arising from Country Presentations ..........Error! Bookmark not defined.
B. Session Two - Case Studies and Plenary Discussions ................................................ 16
Export competitiveness and the Tourism Sector - Dr. Auliana Poon......................... 16
Exporting Professional Services from the Caribbean – Sunhil Sinha ......................... 17
Best Practices on the Export of Professional Services – Howard Baron ................... 19
The Singapore Experience .......................................................................................... 20
Caribbean Export Development Agency - Taiana Mora-Ramis ................................ 21
C. Session Three – Identification of Priority Issues ........................................................ 22
D. Session Four - Export Competitiveness in the Context of Trade Negotiations - Lincoln
Price .................................................................................................................................. 28
E. Session Five: Plenary: From Strategy to Implementation ......................................... 30
Identification of strong companies/sub-sectors in Professional Services ................... 31
F. Session Five - Plenary: From Strategy to Implementation ....................................... 34
G. The role of Donor Agencies in the Caribbean – Panel Discussion ............................. 38
H. Way Forward and Closing .......................................................................................... 43
List of Acronyms ........................................................................................................ 45
List of Participants ...................................................................................................... 46
Workshop Programme ................................................................................................ 58
vi
Opening Addresses
The workshop was opened by Nikhil Treebhoohun, Advisor and Head of Trade Section,
Special Advisory Services Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat (COMSEC),
Taiana Mora-Ramis, Executive Director of the Caribbean Export and Dr. Louis
Woodroffe, Director of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in
Barbados.
Mr. Treebhoohun thanked the Caribbean Export for collaborating with the COMSEC in
the organisation of the workshop. He said that this was the second workshop that the
COMSEC had convened on Export Competitiveness. The first one was held in Botswana,
March 7-9, 2006 and the third one will be held in the Pacific region in July 2006. In his
opening comments Mr. Treebhoohun gave an overview of the Special Advisory Services
Division (SASD) including the responsibility of the division for providing technical
assistance to member countries within the four (4) main areas of Debt Management;
Economic and Legal Services; Enterprise; and Agriculture and Trade.
He commented that to enhance export competitiveness in member countries SASD
assisted with the development of export and sector strategies, facilitated market
development and helped member countries develop best practices in compliance with
international standards. Mr Treebhoohun emphasised that the four areas of intervention
supported by SASD are Tourism, National Export Strategies, the Export of Professional
Services, Trade Facilitation and Market Development. The Export of Professional
Services is a new area for the Caribbean. He highlighted that the COMSEC had new
projects in the pipeline for the Caribbean countries which will commence in July 2006.
Mr Treebhoohun further commented that the development of export competitiveness
strategies was a fundamental element of the COMSEC’s mandate to introduce
programmes to help reduce poverty. This workshop follows that mandate since it will
allow Caribbean countries to identify their problems and to develop relevant strategies for
export competitiveness. He said that this workshop will also provide the opportunity for
regional countries to learn from each other and to formulate strategies to transform the
region economically.
Taiana Mora-Ramis in her opening remarks thanked the Commonwealth Secretariat for
their work in facilitating the workshop. The workshop was directed to the 12 countries of
the English-speaking Caribbean and would address the critical issues that influence the
competitiveness of the region, as well as the actions that are currently being undertaken
to achieve competitiveness. The practical experiences of similar countries and the models
and best practices that supported their successes would also be discussed.
Ms. Mora-Ramis stated that the Caribbean Export was becoming more responsive to the
needs of the private sector as they seek to enhance their export competitiveness. She said
that her organization was working in collaboration with other donor agencies including to
the European Union in their Private Sector Development programme and the
1
Commonwealth Secretariat, in the promotion of the Professional Services programme to
help the region diversify their economies.
Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Barbados, Dr.
Louis Woodroffe, welcomed the participants to the workshop. He explained the role of
both the private and public sector as they related to export competitiveness. The main
role of the public sector as the policy advisor was to ensure that the investment and
business environment are conducive to firms becoming competitive. He also mentioned
that governments must evaluate the constantly changing environment on a continuous
basis to ensure that the existing environment is flexible and responsive to the needs of
business and the investor. On the other hand the private sector must provide Government
with the relevant feedback including the type of incentives necessary for the private
sector to remain competitive.
Dr. Woodroofe drew attention to the failure of small economies within the region to
undertake sufficient competitive analysis to allow them to identify and respond to trends;
economic distinctiveness; and competitive and technological issues which influence
international competitiveness. The distinctive country characteristics of regional
economies, as documented by the Commonwealth Secretariat which included the limited
capacity to produce goods and services, limited access to external capital and a high
degree of openness specifically in the services sector are all challenges to the
achievement of competitiveness.
Dr. Woodroffe said that international competitiveness strategies must be developed and
pursued to overcome these challenges as well as the challenges posed by international
and regional trade rules. The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) is one
approach being used in the region to overcome the competitiveness challenge. However,
Dr. Woodroffe hoped that this workshop would provide ideas on how the region can
work together to develop and improve competitiveness strategies
2
Participants Expectations
During the opening session of the workshop Mr. Nikhil Treebhoohun asked participants
to state what they expected from this workshop. Table 1 lists the participant’s responses.
Table 1 – showing participants responses
Development of practical partnerships
Identify how Caribbean Development Bank
can assist the private sector to enhance
export competitiveness
Add value to sustainable development
Expected to see more private sector
companies participating in the workshop
How we can leave with concrete proposals Linkages between agriculture and export
on sustainable competitiveness
development
To obtain practical models relating to Use of IT to facilitate trade facilitation
export competitiveness
To identify the contribution that the private Export of professional services
sector can make to global competitiveness
Use brainstorming to provide ideas on how Opportunities and challenges of export
the region can be more competitive
competitiveness
New systems for the frame working of Link successful tourism product with
trade in the Caribbean
agriculture
Improve competitiveness in tourism Export competitive strategies for small
linkages with different sectors
businesses
Marriage of trade export strategies to National export competitive strategies
strengthen export competitiveness
Find out how IICA can assist in Learn how to better advise clients in the
international competitiveness and how trade sector
IICA (B’dos) can assist with agro
competitive programmes
Determining what network can be develop Best practices and opportunities for
to help with national export strategies
partnerships
3
Export Competitiveness: Getting down to Basics – Nikhil Treebhoohun
“Concepts without perceptions are empty;
perceptions without concepts are blind.”
Kant
Mt. Treebhoohun used a quotation from Kant to explain to the participants that
perceptions are important however perceptions without concepts are blind. Mr.
Treebhoohun informed the participants that COMSEC can have perceptions of the
problems affecting the region but to form effective concepts COMSEC needed to know
the specifics of the various islands.
The presenter posed the question “What is competitiveness?” He then asked participants
to state their individual definition of competitiveness.
The following are the participants’ definitions of competitiveness:

“ to be the best company in terms of profitability in that market”

“actions that lead to sustainable profits”

“perception of who is in front of the game; comparison with other players for market
share”

“the ability to meet customers’ purchase criteria in ways that are superior to
competitor’s”

“doing things better than anyone else”

“ability to take advantage of market opportunities and achieve commercial gain”

“ ability to produce goods or services at a cost and quality better than the
competitor”

“meet market current and future needs in a more cost-efficient way than competitors”

“the ability of a region, a country, a business to produce products and services that
can be marketed and sold internationally on a value for money basis without
subsidy”

“efficiency in production of goods or services that offers cost and quality advantages
to the consumer in comparison to another product or service”

“the firm ability to successfully survive in the domestic and global market”

“ability to capture, sustain and increase market share and profitability in existing
and /or new targeted markets”

“knowing what your market wants and meeting its needs better than anyone else”
4
Mr. Treebhoohun commented that Krugman defined competitiveness as “A dangerous
obsession”, but in his opinion there are different views of competitiveness depending on
the background or experience. Mr Treebhoohun indicated that by the end of the workshop
he expected participants to defined competitiveness as it relates to our region.
Competitiveness may be defined using measures of competitiveness such as
 Increase in exports of goods and services
 Market share

X = f where X is export
f is the relative prices, quality, lead time, after sales
service, global business environment
The presenter said that use of the market share definition to define competitiveness could
lead to problems relating to the zero-sum game where the belief was that the only way a
country could remain continuously competitive was by taking existing market share from
another country. Thus, if one country increased its market share then the other country
had lost completely.
Mr. Treebhoohun also mentioned that preferential access was another factor of the
market share definition that could negatively influence competitiveness. He pointed out
that companies could experience decrease export revenue if they could diversify their
product base.
Low wage syndrome promoted the view that wages should be kept low to ensure
competitiveness. On the contrary, low wages were a signal of lack of competitiveness.
Maybe increasing the standard of living for citizens would be a better objective. The
presenter further noted that competitiveness is not an enemy on the contrary it should
lead to increase standard of living for the exporting countries.
Mr. Treebhoohun opined that most countries using market share to determine
competitiveness were locked into continuous depreciation of currency. Depreciation of
currency was a tempting political solution, it made the private sector happy since
exported goods and services were cheaper but the cost of imports increased.
There were different levels of competitiveness including competitiveness at the country
level, the sector level, the enterprise level and the individual level. At the country level
structural factors that helped to increase competitiveness included the attractiveness of
the country, the business environment, the legal and regulatory framework,
macroeconomics and the social safety net. He also mentioned that human capital and
physical infrastructure were other factors that influenced competitiveness at the country
level.
A country’s ability to increase its standard of living depended on its productivity.
Increasing productivity increased competitiveness. The presenter referred to the
definition of productivity given by Trade Unionists at a seminar on the Impact of
5
Productivity of workers in 2000 as “a process of continuous improvement in the
production/ supply of quality output/service through efficient, effective use of inputs, with
emphasis on teamwork for the betterment of all.”
Mr. Treebhoohun further stated that productivity depended on the type of business
environment, on both the quality and features of products (which determine the prices
they can command) and on the efficiency with which they were produced. An educated
workforce with an attitude for innovation and appropriate mindset also influenced
productivity leading to increase competitiveness. In the long term productivity was the
prime determinant of a country’s standard of living, 10% productivity growth could
double the wealth of a country within one year.
At the enterprise or sector level, different strategies should be applied to achieve
competitiveness depending on the life cycle of the product and the environmental
conditions. Mr. Treebhoohun pointed out that the application of strategies was similar to
the seasons, as shown in the following diagram where different seasons required different
strategies. He gave an example of tourism within the Caribbean, he said that it would not
be prudent to continually reinforce thirty-year-old strategies instead the tourism services
needed innovation
Indicators which identified the competitiveness of a company included the business and
work environment (providing that the business processes are efficient); the economic and
technological infrastructure including whether there was a well-developed telecom
industry to support e-processes; the educational level and skills of the workforce;
entrepreneurship and enterprise development; and innovation and creativity.
6
Mr. Treebhoohun concluded his presentation by stating that the Caribbean should seek
coherent export policies, he said that there should be specific institutional mechanisms to
steer the policy in addition to a clear commitment and leadership from both the private
and public sector. Finally, he asked participants to find out how to become more export
competitive in the future, which was the broad objective of the regional workshop.
7
A. Session One - Country Presentations
The first working session of the workshop was chaired by Dr. Denny Lewis-Bynoe.
During this session participants presented brief country papers outlining competitiveness
strategies adopted by their respective countries. The presentations identified specific
strategies used to enhance a selected sector, the associated constraints and suggested
actions that may be employed to improve competitiveness.
Barbados
Tourism continued to be the mainstay of the Barbados economy followed by the
Financial Services and International Business and the Manufacturing sectors. In 2004
Tourism contributed 16.0% to the Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, given
the importance of the manufacturing sector as a source of employment and its
contribution to the foreign exchange earnings the government was reinvigorating this
sector pursuant to the vision of the National Strategic Plan 2005-2025. The vision of this
plan was for a manufacturing sector fuelled by steady export growth, foreign exchange
earnings and contributing to full employment, prosperity and annual sustainable growth.
Challenges
The main constraints affecting the national and sectoral competitiveness of Barbados
included a lack of economies of scale, high cost of raw materials, high production costs,
the use of obsolete technologies, undercapitalisation of many companies, limited funds
for research and development and the inability or failure of some companies to meet
international market standards and requirements.
In addressing these challenges the government developed the Special Technical
Assistance Programme (STAP), facilitated accessibility to capital for manufacturing
enterprises and encouraged manufacturing companies to acquire international
certification standards such as International Standards Certification (ISO) and Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) food safety standards. Technical
Assistance programmes including workshops and seminars were also being used to
educate manufacturers on export competitive issues.
Belize
In Belize, the development of a National Export Strategy (NES) was necessary to identify
specific products for export promotion, focus on certain target markets and generally,
diversify and increase exports to generate foreign exchange earnings. The NES would
also allow Belize to lobby international funding agencies based a precise strategy for
promotion and economic development
In the development of the NES, key stakeholders were identified and a core team of both
the public and private sector was established. To determine the objectives of the NES, a
8
national response paper was drafted through consultation with the private and public
sector and presented at the first NES Symposium in October 2005. This paper identified
the five (5) areas of high export potential as Tourism, Agribusiness (emphasis on nontraditional and value-added products), Aquaculture & Fisheries, Information
Communications Technology (ICT) and Environmental Goods and Services.
Challenges
The rejection of leadership roles by key stakeholders increased the implementation
process. The level of Cabinet buy-in has been uncertain coupled with the constant
changes in cabinet portfolios, creating an overall slow acceptance of the programme.
Awareness of the process is not as comprehensive as previously expected with some
government ministries seeing the NES as competing with their own strategies. In order
to gain the full support of both the private and public sector it will be necessary to
embark on a national education programme to create country-wide awareness. In
addition, methodologies must be employed to gain the full support and public
endorsement of the NES by Cabinet since “trade is the engine of growth for the Belizean
economy and the Belize National Export Strategy is the key to that engine.”
Discussion
The discussion focussed on what approach could be considered by Belize to get the
support of the Cabinet. The presenter pointed out that the NES already had the support of
the Prime Minister as a result of the driving forces of the private sector. The process
began in March 2005 and is expected to be completed in September 2006.
Dominica
Dominica’s export vision is “to stimulate exports to contribute significantly to the well
being of Dominican citizens.” However, to meet the demands of the dynamic
international trade and to articulate a vision in line with changes in the economy as it
relates to trade, the government of Dominica has approached the COMSEC for assistance
in the development of a NES.
Services, Agriculture and Manufacturing are the key export sectors of Dominica with
services contributing 65% of GDP. Traditionally agriculture consisting of banana and
non-banana crops was the main export earner but since the US challenge of the European
Union banana regime in 2001 the banana exports have been on the decline. The nonbanana exports have remained stable. The non-banana sector contributes significantly to
the export earnings and accounts for 30-35% of the contribution of agriculture to GDP.
Challenges
The inadequate level of agricultural production, the high cost of production, operational
inefficiencies, lack of resources for research and development and the high cost of freight
are some of the major problems limiting the increase in agricultural exports. Problems
9
relating to payment delays and unsubstantiated spoilage claims also contribute to the
challenge. These constraints may be addressed by the acquisition of production contracts
and the synchronization of production and marketing, to ensure sufficient produce to
meet the demand. Access to pre-shipment and post shipment financing would provide
working capital and consequently reduce cash flow problems. Crop insurance and other
risk management mechanisms would also offer financial protection against losses due to
uncontrollable weather. The investment in appropriate transportation would ensure that
freight is accessible.
Grenada
A Commonwealth/ITC Executive Forum on NES Strategy in 2004 formed the catalyst for
the development of a NES Strategy. Grenada’s vision is to achieve a competitive export
sector focussed on an optimal mix of high quality goods and services for the sustainable
development of Grenada”. Significant milestones in the progress of this strategy included
the formation of a strategy Core Team comprising of the private and public sector and a
national consultation of the Response Paper entitled “The Case for a National Export
Strategy: Key Issues and Possible Response”.
The principal export sectors are tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and other services.
Tourism is the most important generator of foreign exchange earnings in Grenada,
generating more than 50% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. There is a move
away from traditional sand and sea tourism to nature and eco tourism. The tourism sector
is taking an active role in protecting the environment and several hotels are involved in
environment certification schemes.
Challenges
There are a number of factors which are constraints to private sector development and are
obstacles to export competitiveness. These include:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
High international transport cost
Low productivity
Limited access to investment capital
Low levels of entrepreneurial skills
Lack of appropriate training
Difficulties in accessing new technologies
High level of dependency on expensive inputs
Job creation and poverty reduction in rural communities
Constraints specific to the tourism sector relate to capacity development including the
quality of room, quality of airlift arrangements, quality of human resources in the tourism
sector and the standards of attraction. In addition, the infrastructure, trade facilitation, the
cost of doing business and market access all impinge on the competitiveness of the
tourism sector.
10
Jamaica
Jamaica’s vision for its exports is to have a competitive export sector, of quality Jamaican
goods and services that lead to a significant reduction in the trade deficit by the year 2012
and to have a diversified export market. The Jamaican economy is supported by exports
in agriculture, mining, manufacturing and services with tourism being the most important
service sector contributing to one (1) in four (4) jobs in Jamaica. This sector was selected
because it contributes significantly to the brand “Jamaica, accounts for approximately
10% of GDP and 50% to foreign export earnings.
Jamaica’s tourism is guided by the Tourism Master Plan for Sustainable Development
which seeks to build an inclusive industry by encouraging more people to participate in
tourism with a view of spreading the benefits of tourism and strengthening the linkages
with other sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing.
Challenges
The challenges of achieving competitiveness in the tourism sector relate to the
sustainability of the environment; community engagement; ancillary and support
industries; and diversification of the tourism product.
Suggested strategies to improve competitiveness include:
(a) Diversifying the tourism by developing more heritage-based attractions which
reduces the demand for natural attractions preserving the natural environment in
the process.
(b) Widen the industry structure
(c) Focus on environment
(d) Create an inclusive industry
Discussion
A participant made a comment concerning the capital intensive nature of tourism and the
conceivable low returns. He commented that tourism is often seen as a cash cow of
foreign exchange, yet it is not friendly for job creation, there is a high percentage of
leakage and it does not create a lot of wealth. He explained that in the tourism industry,
the country is really the product, therefore development of the product is really
development of the country.
St. Lucia
The development of a NES involved close collaboration with the private sector, the
government and The International Trade Centre of the United Nations and WTO. The
Lucia Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture was the lead private sector agency
involved in the discussions. Political support was critical to the process, as well as
education through training meetings and workshops of all stake holders. The Strategy has
recently received financing for its implementation in the 2006 /2007 Annual Budget.
The goals of the export strategy include the creation of a satisfactory institutional
arrangement for continuous development of exports and the enhancement of international
11
competitiveness of local exporters. Proposed product and market strategies must also be
reflected in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations such as the CSME and WTO.
Agriculture and manufacturing are the key export sectors. Manufacturing includes
activities such as agro-processing, beverages, paper products, garments and electrical
products. This sector employs 8% of the population.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
The key export sectors include agriculture, manufacturing and tourism-related services.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy with bananas being the dominant export
product. The main constraints affecting competitiveness in the agricultural sector include:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
Heavily dependent on one crop
Dependency syndrome in private sector
Lack of capacity to expand
No linkages between producers and marketers
Commercial banks are highly risk averse
Shortage of highly skilled professionals
Trade agreements are not consistently incorporated into business activity due to
lack of skills and resources.
(h) Absence of targeted research and development activities.
Suggested approaches for addressing these problems include:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
Develop a domestic supply capacity
Ensure a smooth implementation of the CSME
Encourage backward and forward linkages
Accelerate investment promotion programmes
Provide resources and incentives to stimulate and consolidate national initiatives
in research and development.
(f) Provide similar economic structure as used in banana production
(g) Youth entrepreneurship and internship programmes that will build sectoral
capacity
(h) Build strong high quality national brands
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad is a major exporter with CARICOM but to maintain and increase their export
capacity it is necessary to enter new markets. Trinidad is therefore now in the process of
developing a NES in accordance with their national vision to become a developed nation
2020.
The key export sectors are minerals, chemicals and manufacturing and food and
beverage. The food and beverage contributes 3% to the GDP. Exports for this sector
have remained fairly constant for the period 2000-2004.
Challenges
12
Some of the constraints affecting this sector are logistics, risk aversion by local
entrepreneurs, an over reliance on the CARICOM market and a lack of regulatory food
standards. Suggested strategies to improve competitiveness include:
(a) developing regulatory food standards
(b) establishing R&D in the food and beverage sector
Antigua & Barbuda
The service sector is the main foreign exchange earner. It is dominated by tourism,
offshore financial services and gaming.
The four major constraints that impinge on the export competitiveness of Antigua’s
manufacturing sector are:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
high labour cost
high energy cost
lack of natural resources
emphasis placed on development of tourism
Key Issues Arising from Country Presentations
In his summary of the country reports Mr. Andrew Satney, Trade Advisor of the SASD,
Commonwealth Secretariat, pointed out that there seems to be inadequate linkage
between export competitiveness programmes and the global and regional trade agenda.
This he said may be associated with limited dialogue between the two agendas. Mr.
Satney also observed that the country reports failed to mention the trade exports of the
wider services, such as education services, health care services, legal services and
construction-related services. The cost of telecommunications was another area that was
not identified in the country reports even though he said that this may have been captured
in the broader cost issues. Mr. Satney further highlighted that the presentations failed to
look at the role of the CSME when discussing their export competitive programmes. The
key cross-cutting issues based on the country papers presented were also given by Mr.
Satney. Table 2 outlines the main cross-cutting issues.
Table 2 Showing Cross Cutting Issues
Cross-Cutting Issues
1. Uncompetitive
costs
of
production:
 Labour (lack of or costly)
 Utilities
 transportation
Country-specific
issues
Suggested Approach
Improved
access
to
competitive, labour, energy,
marketing, etc.
Regional approach, e.g.
RTAs.
Joint-venture.
Firm-level
issues.
Need for political by- Inclusion in the decisionin by Government
making
process.
Communication
between
relevant parties.
Responsibilities
Public and private sector;
Regional and international
institutions,
Local
agencies
government
13
Cross-Cutting Issues
2. Natural disasters
3. Inadequate R & D
4. Lack of capacity
5. Inadequate trade data for
services trade. Data not
disaggregated
6. Uncompetitive cost of doing
business: e.g. customs,
government
institutions,
support services – public
and private sector.
7. Globalization and trade
liberalization – removal of
preferences in exports and
opening of markets at the
local and regional levels
8. Knowledge and skills
inadequate
to
be
competitive
–
entrepreneurship; human
resource constraints.
9. Financing
10. Economic diversification;
market diversification
11.
Country-specific
issues
Collections
(high
percentage
of
receivables)
Suggested Approach
Responsibilities
Marketing
Intelligence; National and regional
representation
in
the institutions.
market-place; terms of
trade; strategic alliances in
the market place
Insurances,
regional
Public and private sector
approach.
Regional approach.
Organized
production,
partnerships; cluster policy.
Collection of detailed trade
data at national and regional
levels
Trade facilitation actions in
all sectors, in particular
government departments,
including regulatory bodies.
Regional approach
National level approach
National Statistics offices;
Regional
institutions
(CARICOM, OECS),
Technical Assistance at
all levels.
Regional
Institutions,
government ministries.
Changing education system National and regional
for “relevance”.
institutions. International
agencies.
“Accommodating” financial
institutions. Production of
“bankable” projects.
Developing knowledge (new
products and markets)
Financial
institutions;
development agencies.
National, regional and
international
support
institutions.
Environmental
Development of adequate National agencies with
issues.
policies
support from regional and
international institutions.
Limited diversification Implementation
of National programmes.
in agricultural sector
agricultural diversification
strategy.
Discussion
The ensuing discussion focussed on the lack of integration of competitive strategies. A
participant mentioned that there seem to be individual silos of work being done by
individual countries. He said that it is clear that “we [the individual islands] see each
other as competitors… we are in discussions but not as a team.” He concluded that the
14
territories must work as a team in formulating global competitive strategies. It was also
pointed out that the US barriers to trade in relation to goods and services from the
Caribbean had not been addressed regionally.
Another participant mentioned that the impact of the high level of crime specifically in
Jamaica and Trinidad was not discussed in any of the country papers even though it must
be impacting on the competitiveness strategies.
15
B. Session Two - Case Studies and Plenary Discussions
This session was chaired by Mr. Andrew Satney. Case studies on export competitiveness
in tourism, professional services and trade facilitation were used to provide participants
with industry best practices and models to assist them in their competitiveness strategies.
Export competitiveness and the Tourism Sector - Dr. Auliana Poon
Dr. Auliana Poon a trade expert in tourism intelligence and research underscored the need
for tourism destinations to understand their target markets, sell their value and use the
unique characteristics of the Caribbean to achieve competitiveness. A case study
conducted in 2000 on the Barbados Tourism Market to identify the reasons for a decline
of the German tourists during the 1990’s was used to demonstrate the methodology
needed to compete successfully in this sector. This case study advanced the need for
effective market research in the tourism sector. The first stage of the study was to identify
and clearly state the problem. This was done by surveying key stakeholders in the target
market as well as in the destination market. An in depth investigation of the strengths
and weakness of the destination as well as an examination of regional competitive
markets was conducted. In addition, surveys were done to identify the German tourists’
perception of the Barbados tourism product.
Some of the significant findings from the case study related to Barbados not having a
clear understanding of the target market and the destination not being differentiated in the
minds of the German tourists. According to Dr. Poon, the Germans perceived Barbados
as a high price destination with no real value for money compared to destinations such as
the Dominican Republic. The recommended strategies to enhance the competitiveness of
the destination focussed on the development of a clear image of Barbados in the German
market with emphasis on the uniqueness of the destination to differentiate it from other
competitive markets. The strengthening of the destination’s tourism product through the
improvement of the service quality in the hotels was also recommended in addition to the
development of key value-added niches.
The acceptance and implementation of the recommendations resulted in the establishment
of stronger partnerships with the German trade; a re-launch of the Brand Barbados in the
German market and the promotion of smaller more affordable hotels to meet the demands
of the German tourists.
Discussion
The presenter commented that despite the high quality of the Barbados tourism product
leading destinations such as Dubai and Mauritius have exquisite products compared to
Barbados at a fraction of the cost of Barbados. She declared that strategic tourism
policies were not being developed and customers were choosing destinations that they
perceived provided value for money.
16
A participant referred to Dr. Poon’s comparison between the Dominican Republic and
Barbados as an intellectual mind trail. He said that the consumer does not want to
leverage the smallness of a destination. He commented that the advantage of the German
tourist going to the Dominican Republic centred on the tourists’ ability to fly point-topoint from Frankfurt to Dominican Republic without the encumbrance of having to
endure multiple trips as in the case of Frankfurt to UK to Barbados. He revealed that
Barbados tourism strategy involved attracting the higher end of the tourist market
specifically the UK tourists in preference to the German tourist since research has shown
that the British spend more money in the destination than the average German tourist.
Exporting Professional Services from the Caribbean – Sunhil Sinha
Mr Sunhil Sinha recently developed a NES for the promotion of professional services in
Malta. He used this experience coupled with his knowledge of the Caribbean export
market (having developed a master plan for the sustainable tourism development for
Jamaica), to inform participants on the opportunities available in the export of
professional services. He stated that in 2004, world exports of services increased by 16%
to top US$ 2 trillion. He also mentioned that there was a shift in trade from the traditional
industries such as agriculture to the more attractive tourism services and more recently to
trade in professional services. Mr. Sinha opined that within the Caribbean, the
development of the professional services sector can create a knowledge-based economy.
He said that this type of economy is not process-oriented therefore it is not limited by
high labour cost.
The presenter outlined some of the advantages of developing the professional services
sector within the region. These include the close proximity of the Caribbean to the US
market and the academically sound education that is prominent in the region which
provides a platform for developing vocational skills. In contrast, attempting to develop a
services sector that is already dominated by tourism coupled with a low awareness of the
Caribbean as a source of professional services, present some major challenges.
Mr. Sinha mentioned that they are several opportunities in some of the services’ subsectors specifically, education, healthcare and the ICTs. For example in the case of
education, the English-speaking Caribbean could sell academic and professional
excellence by promoting the teaching of English as a foreign language. He indicated that
this initiative could form linkages to tourism. He further proposed that in some countries
the healthcare services could also form linkages with the condominium sector specifically
in Barbados where there is a rapid development of this sector. Furthermore, he said that
the delivery of high quality healthcare services could enhance the attractiveness of the
condominium sector.
The presenter revealed that the close proximity of the Caribbean to the US could also
provide some benefits in the ICT sub-sector since US companies are recognising the need
to have ICT outsourcing destinations that are closer to the home market. He mentioned
that even though India provides a low cost ICT solution many US companies prefer to
17
offshore into English-speaking jurisdictions closer to the US where there are minimal
cultural differences and the logistical and security issues are minimised.
Considering there are significant benefits to be derived from the exporting of professional
services, Mr. Sinha indicated that the region must promote itself as a source of
professional services through branding. He challenged the region to improve its business
environment. He mentioned that incentives can be given to promote the training of the
labour force in the setting up of an e-business. He further commented that the Caribbean
Export can assist with the marketing, the investment promotion and the development of
private/public sector partnerships to ensure the successful exporting of the professional
services.
Discussion
A participant commented that in the 1980’s Antigua and Barbuda entered into the niche
marketing of services to diversify their export market. They entered into the gaming
sector which is now becoming successful. However, the US department of justice is
associating money laundering with locally-based [Antiguan] companies involved in
Internet gaming. He lamented that companies are asked to diversify and find niches but
as soon as you become successful it is being taken away.
The presenter pointed out the importance of communicating the vision for professional
services. He also said that the financial services industry is prone to money laundering
and there are certain negotiating tactics and policies that must be employed to be
successful in this area.
Another participant made the comment that even though professional services can be
considered as the next step in the exporting of services, it seems as though all the services
mention are derivatives of tourism. He further queried whether they are other nontourism related services that can be competitive.
There was a general agreement among the participants that the region needs to build on
its strengths and use its resources which in this case is tourism. Other services such as
data management, data capture, the analysis of the records of everyone who visits a
doctor and then using the created database as a resource are examples of professional
services that can be used within the region.
The chairman concluded the presentation by reinforcing the point that the horizons are
not within the region but within the global market and the region should endorse the
exporting of its professional services.
18
Best Practices on the Export of Professional Services – Howard Baron
In the export of professional services there is a need to determine which service firms
should be supported. This involves assessing the key success factors including finances,
marketing, management, commitment, knowledge (that is how knowledgeable is the firm
in areas of regional or international market entry), competitiveness and operations.
Competitiveness is the most important of all of these factors since it is the only factor that
cannot be bought, it must be developed. The presenter used the best practices of Trade
Promotion Organizations (TPO’s) in Cyprus which is a small island state similar to the
islands of the Caribbean region to inform the participants.
The support for professional services requires different strategies from those used in the
manufacturing sector. Support such as training in international development and
consultancy can assist professional services firms. The sourcing of good business
contracts is another area of support required by these firms. In his comparison of the
professional services sub-sectors, Mr. Baron revealed that there are opportunities in some
sub sectors but firms must also consider the threats. For example, there are some
opportunites for lawyers and accountants to provide tax advice and support to
international business companies but there is also increasing competition in this market
from other tax efficient jurisdictions. In the case of ICT’s some niche firms are
successful internationally but generally this sector cannot compete with the low cost
Asian service providers.
He highlighted that the international competitive advantage in this sector is dependent on
the ease of access to the market, the size of the market and the possibility of niche
advantages. Mr. Baron concluded by stating that the export of professional services is
attractive, everybody is interested in professional services however, trade promotion
organizations need to pick firms that are winners and support these firms.
Discussion
Participants commented that the presenter did not provide a strong feeling of optimism
for the exporting of services in the region. According to the presentation they seem to be
very few winners in the region.
The presenter advised that between 12-20 firms that are winners can be selected and
supported.
A participant enquired to what extent the slow approach to liberalizing the market is
influencing the region’s ability to develop professional services trade.
The presenter indicated that he was unfamiliar with the regional trade barriers but he said
that barriers to trade would not be a hindrance to an ambitious professional services firm.
19
The Singapore Experience – Chan Fook Seng
Harnessing on IT to Enhance International Trade Efficiency and Security
The case study addressed issues relating to trade facilitation and how information
technology is being used in Singapore to enhance international trade efficiencies and
security and consequently achieve competitive advantage.
Singapore’s implementation of the Tradenet© technology in 1989 created a seamless
electronic system promoting paperless trade. This technology was identified as one of the
strategic national information systems that enhanced Singapore’s competitiveness as a
global city of international trade. Prior to the introduction of this technology, processes
such as clearing goods in the port took two to seven days, after Tradenet© these
processes lasted two minutes. This software process 30, 000 documents per day and
removes the redundant processes from the import/export process reducing time and cost
of business. Similar systems are being adopted by Malaysia and Australia to improve
their export efficiencies and consequently their export competitiveness.
The implementation of this revolutionary IT system required a change management
process since stakeholders needed to be reassured that they would not have been
disadvantaged.
Discussion:
A participant posed the following question. “How did Singapore overcome the change
management as it related to the removal of the middle people and also the mistrust of the
electronic/computerize systems”.
Mr. Fook Seng stated that the project was supported by government. A Trade Facilitation
Committee with clearly defined objectives was set up and chaired by the Minister of
Trade. This increased the transparency of the project. The cultural mindset of the
Singaporeans, as citizens obedient to the government also helped to reduce resistance to
change. The presenter commented that the need to become more efficient in the shipping
process propelled the project.
A participant queried the efficiency of Tradenet© in detecting guns, drugs and other
contraband. In response, Mr. Fook Seng indicated that Tradenet© is a technology that
facilitates documentation. Thus, it does not have any security features to minimise the
contraband. He reiterated that cargo clearance is the responsibility of the customs
department.
20
Summary of Day 1
In his summary of the day’s events Mr. Satney mentioned that the opening presentations
allowed participants a glimpse of what to expect from the workshop. It also allowed the
organisers to capture what the participants expected to learn from the workshop. The
country papers highlighted some significant trading issues experienced by countries at the
national level. He commented that the tourism presentation highlighted the need to move
tourism forward. He mentioned that the case study on Barbados had identified Barbados
as an expensive destination that needed to sell its value. Lessons learned from the Malta
study included issues that the region could address as it endeavoured to promote
exportation of professional services. Mr. Baron’s presentation highlighted that the export
of services was a highly competitive area and only the winners would survive and finally,
the impact of technology on export competitiveness was revealed by the Singapore case
study.
Caribbean Export Development Agency - Taiana Mora-Ramis
Session Two continued on Wednesday, May 25, with Taiana Mora-Ramis reporting on
the Caribbean Export Developing Agency. Her presentation focussed on the changes that
the Caribbean Export was undertaking in response to the changes in regional and global
trade. She said that the agency was responding to economic and political challenges
influencing trade such as the implementation of the CSM; the erosion of trade
preferences to the region; the need for diversification exports; development of new
sectors; and identification of new approaches to old sectors. She further commented that
the Caribbean Export was looking for strategies that could be implemented at the regional
level to achieve competitiveness.
The reality of the situation as indicated by Ms. Mora-Ramis was that even if companies
within the region did not internationalize they would be faced with increased
competition. Thus, the task of the Caribbean Export as a developmental agency was to
find ways to add value at the regional level; use available preferences such as the CSME;
and help companies to internationalize with minimal cultural impact.
Ms. Mora-Ramis further mentioned that the new approach of the Agency was to form
strategic alliances with other regional organizations, Business Support Organizations
(BSO) at the national level, firms and groups of firms and other members of the donor
community. She commented that the next steps in this new approach was the
development of a BSO network to improve the flow of communication, allowing
Caribbean Export to better identify and support the needs of firms, government and
institutions within the region.
21
C. Session Three – Identification of Priority Issues
This session began with the random assignment of participants into four working groups
where Group 1 was concerned with country competitiveness. Group 2 worked on
Sector/Firm Competitiveness, Group 3 was assigned Regional Competitiveness and
Group 4 focussed on Institutional Capacity and Framework. The Participants were given
instructions on the how to identify group specific strategies. Each group was instructed
to select a chairperson and a rappateur to present their results. The chairman for this work
group session was Christopher de Riggs. The groups were asked to focus their
discussions on the following questions as they related to their specific group.
1. What is competitiveness?
2. What are the constraints/issues?
3. What are some of the cross-cutting issues?
4. What are the strategies?
Tables 3, 4, 5 and 6 present the responses to the questions for the respective groups
22
Group 1 - Country Competitiveness
Definition of Competitiveness:
Competitiveness is a country’s capacity to provide or facilitate the sustainable
production of goods and services that can be effectively marketed
Table 3 – Country Competitiveness (Group 1)
Constraints
Objectives
1. Lack of an agreed vision  Process must be private sector led
 Process must be facilitated by public sector
2. Definition of roles of
private /public sector
and
leadership
positions
3.
Determination
of
resources
for
implementing strategy
e.g. human resources,
financing, technology
Actions
 Develop capacity of both public
and private sector on a
continuous basis
 Establish
partnership
mechanisms
among
public,
private
and
civil
society
organisations
of
National
 Public sector to develop macroeconomic and Development
Competitiveness/Export
council
legal framework
 Creation of enabling environment e.g.
infrastructure, Research and Develop, human
resources, business facilitation, security, social
infrastructure, healthcare, etc.
 Private sector has to be responsible for efficient
production processes, corporate structure and
governance,
investment,
application
of
technology, exploiting market opportunities,
corporate social responsibility
 Public sector capacity to provide the conducive  Investment in human capacity
environment for competitiveness
 System and procedures
 Application
of
appropriate
technologies
 Legislative reforms
 Infrastructure
e.g.
ports,
warehousing, etc.
 Analytical and certification
 Improvement of regulatory
framework
 Private sector’s capacity to access or manage  Development of labour force
land, labour, capital, knowledge
 Implementation of industry
 Management skilled in a socially responsible
standards
manner
 Civil Society mobilisation to include Diaspora in  Collaboration
among
facilitation of new markets, products and
stakeholders
in
planning,
investments
implementation, monitoring and
evaluation
 Develop country branding
strategy
23
Discussion
Participants queried the leadership of the vision. The leader of the group indicated that
the vision should be shared by both entities.
Group 2 – Firm/Sector Issues
Definition of Competitiveness:
Competitiveness is the ability to produce a good service that
 conforms to the production standards of the market in which the product is to be sold
 is price competitive to similar products in a given market
Table 4 – Firm/Sector (Group2)
Constraints
Access to financing
Cost of financing
Cross-cutting issues
strategies
 Improve corporate governance
Outdated technology
Relatively high cost of labour
High cost of utilities and other
factors of production
Poor management structures
 Improved management
Culture change
Lack of public sector strategies
and institutional support for
business development
 Strategic alliances
 Explore opportunities of CSME
 Deepening and widening

Low productivity


High cost of (intra-regional)
shipping
Inadequate air and sea links
(intra-regional)
Lack of market information

capital markets
Create
SME
financing
mechanisms
Adoption
of
appropriate
technology
Improved labour productivity
or training
Improve trade facilitation
 Improve access and use of
market information
Cost of telecommunications
availability or quality of human
resources
24
Group 3 – Regional Competitiveness
Definition of Competitiveness:
Competitiveness is the:
 Creation of a borderless regional business environment
 Harnessing of regional resources
 Promotion of internal linkages
Table 5 – Regional Competitiveness (Group 3)
Constraints
1. Insularity within the region
2. Inappropriate definition of our
competitors
3. R&D activities not targeting in
the region
4. Access to financing
5. Transportation (Air & Sea)
6. Trade Facilitation
7. Utilities
Cross-cutting issues
strategies
Re-educating
 Public
 Media
 Parliament
 Financial sector
 educators
Encouraging the CSME process
to “catch up” with the OECS
process, or utilise or learn from
the spirit of OECS
 Benchmark OECS with global
competitor
 Facilitate investment in R&D
 Modernize Intellectual Property
 Tax incentives for R&D
 Greater
utilisation
of
educational institutions
 Government to set up
technology
parks
and
incubators (RPF)
 Encourage less risk averse
financing available in terms of
developmental financing
 Encourage alliances e.g. cosharing among regional airlines
and back freighting
 Utilise
Singapore’s
best
practices
 Encourage the use of Liquefied
Natural Gas pipeline from
Trinidad
 Alternative energy sources
25
Group 4 – Institutional Capacity and Framework
1. Definition of competitiveness:
Competitiveness is the ability of an entity to meet emerging needs of a market while
operating under a profitable and sustainable business model.
Table 6 - Institutional Capacity and Framework (Group 4)
Constraints to Development
Constraints to development Implementation
1. Transparency & accountability (All)
1. Transparency & accountability

Political will over vision

Interpretation and poor implementation e.g.
Customs, Bureau of Standards
2. Absence of a common vision and related policy
and strategies with clear objectives and 2. Change in political direction/ conflicting directives
strategic direction (All)
3. No buy-in; weakness in consultation (All)
4. Lack of sustainability in the policy
5. Human capital
 Inappropriate skills
3. Insufficient funding for implementation
 technology
 training
 funding programmes for special implementation
4. Human capital
 Inappropriate skills
 Insufficient staff
 Poor management and technical skills
6. Resistance to change
5. Resistance to change
7.
6. Inadequate institutional structure; part-time and
volunteer positions not equipped for implementation
* All countries in the group experience impediments mentioned – Belize, Barbados,
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago
Strategies
Group 4 recommended that the following strategies:
1. Revolutionise educational system in order for it to meet the needs of the export
sector
2. Involve stakeholders in creation of policy to ensure buy-in
3. Develop financial institutions to give access to development and trade financing at
competitive rates
4. Public sector reform
a. technology
b. HR development
26
5. Establishment of a network for collaboration related to the above mentioned
framework
6. Capacity building
organisations.
(training,
technology,
systems)
for
business
support
7. Leverage grant/donor funds to implement strategies
Discussion
Participants highlighted some of the issues that were not mentioned in the identification
of the broad strategies including food security and safety which participants considered as
one of the essential requirements of the region. Other areas that were not addressed
included the forward and backward linkages to agriculture and the cultural heritage
linkages. Another participant pointed out that the movement of persons to facilitate sector
development was not considered in the selection of the broad strategies.
27
D
Session Four – Export Competitiveness in the Context of Trade
Negotiations - Lincoln Price
As an introduction to the presentation the presenter said that the question may be asked
“why are we in these negotiations, when we are a bunch of uncompetitive economies”
The economies in the Caribbean are post colonial economies. Traditionally these economies
did not need to be competitive stated Mr. Price. He said that the Caribbean countries were
accustomed to the protectionism offered by the former colonial masters as in the case of
sugar, rum and bananas. Mr. Price commented that despite receiving preferential access to
the European Union market for many years, exports from Caribbean countries into the EU
did not increase. Even though Independence provided the countries with the opportunity to
expand into new markets and to diversify product bases, Mr. Price said that these regional
economies continued to be resource economies expecting the same preferential treatment and
not increasing their competitiveness.
Within the Caribbean, there is a thrust to develop appropriate strategies to achieve
competitiveness. Mr. Price opined that this concept opposes the fundamental
development of these economies. He referred to the Global Competitiveness Report for
2005-2006 which is a publication of the World Economic Forum. This report captured
the competitive condition of 117 national economies and showed that Trinidad and
Tobago ranked the 60th which was the highest ranking for the region. Guyana was the
lowest at 115 at the end of 2005 as shown in table 7. The presenter pointed out that this
report only assessed four countries within the Caribbean with no record of the
competitiveness of the smaller islands. Also significant was that in 2005 there was a
decline from the 2004 ranking in three of the countries indicating that these countries
declined in their ability to compete in the global market. There was no ranking for
Guyana in 2004. Mr. Price pointed out that these findings indicated that the countries
were not very competitive at the national level.
Table 7 - Growth Competitiveness Index rankings 2005 and 2004 comparisons
GCI
GCI
GCI
Country
2005
Rank
2005
Score
2004
Rank
Trinidad and Tobago
60
3.81
51
Jamaica
70
3.64
65
Dominican Republic
102
3.05
72
Guyana
115
2.73
—
Changes
Changes
2004-2005 2004-2005



n/a
-9
-5
-30
n/a
Source: Global Competitiveness Report 2005: World Economic Forum
28
At the business level the situation was similar with Guyana being the least competitive of
the four countries recorded in 2005 (see table 8). The presenter mentioned that overall
these reports highlighted that the Caribbean was neither competitive at the national nor
business level.
Table 8 - Business Competitiveness Index rankings 2005 and 2004
BCI
BCI
Country
2005 Rank
2004 Rank
Jamaica
53
54
Trinidad and Tobago
65
59
Dominican Republic
101
80
Guyana
110
n/a
Source: Global Competitiveness Report 2005: World Economic Forum
Mr. Price further stated that the Caribbean must first seek to increase its level of
competitiveness before it proceeded to trade negotiations. However, he said that the
Caribbean was doing the opposite by seeking to advance trade negotiations before
achieving a significant level of competitiveness. He also mentioned that trade
negotiations impacted the ability of firms to export and receive greater margins. Mr. Price
pointed out that low competitiveness is an indication of low productivity levels which
influences the ability to export.
The presenter referred to the sectors that increased market share in 2005, including the
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), beer, diamonds, fertilizers and electrical relays as more
capital intensive. He said that this increase in market share occurred because firms in
these sectors continually enhanced their operational efficiencies by replacing labour
intensive activities. These activities supported the concept that trade liberalisation
encouraged the small economies in the Caribbean to compete not on cheap wages, but
more so, on what economists call total factor productivity. The sectors that gained market
share were those with a higher propensity to export and become globally integrated thus
increasing their competitiveness.
The presenter highlighted that trade negotiations can propel the competitiveness of
dynamic sectors and also bargain for more time for new sectors to get competitive or to
transition to more dynamic areas. In cases where the regionalisation or
internationalisation of firms was slower than the global average, as a result restrictions
relating to market access, the CARICOM Regional Negotiating Machinery could
intervene and provide assistance to the relevant sectors.
Mr. Price commented that the region has always been one of the most globally integrated
area with small open economies. He further emphasized that faced with global integration
and the removal of trade preferences it was imperative that the region entered into trade
negotiations. He said that the region needed access to the most modern Intellectual
29
Property Rights (IPRs) to ensure that the relevant benefits were derived from trading their
commodities. In addition, he said it was important that the views of the region be
articulated in international negotiations.
In his summation on the current status of trade negotiations and their impact on
competitiveness the presenter highlighted that the waiver obtained under the Caribbean
Basin Initiative (CBI) is scheduled to expire in 2008 and efforts to obtain a new
agreement had been blocked by Asian members of the WTO. Without this agreement
exports from the Caribbean to the US could be challenged resulting in higher duties paid
by exporters.
The presenter also mentioned that the widening of the Caribbean Single Market services
framework would increase the competitiveness in services across the region by providing
a free regulatory framework. It would facilitate the movement of skilled labour without
immigration restrictions. However, one of the issues which would influence the exporting
of services was the acceptance of standards of National Agencies. Mr Price further
mentioned that the increased flexibility over the movement of labour between countries
remained contentious for many Caribbean jurisdictions with Guyanese illegal immigrants
to Barbados being routinely deported. The presenter concluded that trade negotiations
affected the profitability of the private sector. He said that firms that paid attention to
trade negotiations would distinguish themselves and consequently “out compete” smaller
competitors.
Discussion
The discussion chaired by Ms Veona Maloney, focussed on the legislative framework
associated with (1) the CARICOM Single Market and (2) the export of professional
services. In response to a query relating to the delay in the establishment of a customs
union, the presenter said that the problems associated with the delay related to the
taxation at each port for goods that was purchased extra-regionally and further transshipped within the region. The presenter identified some of the challenges concerning
the export of professional services as national security /immigration where the countries
were becoming increasingly insular. He opined that the insularity possibly occurred as a
result of the fear of cultural change coupled with the fear of losing jobs. He said that the
legal framework must facilitate the seamless movement of individuals. A participant
commented that the region had capacity problems which were reflected in the overall
approach to trade whereby trade occurred first and the legislation came after.
E
Session Five: Plenary: From Strategy to Implementation
This session began with comments from Mr. Nikhail Treebhoohun on the previous group
work which identified some of the challenges to specific areas of competitiveness and
the strategies to consider. Participants were requested to identify three constraints per
group and report to plenary. The chairperson for this session was Mr Ronald Dubrisingh.
The following constraints as shown in Table 9 were identified by the four (4) groups.
30
Table 9 Constraints to Competitiveness
Group
Group 1
Constraints
Country
Competitiveness
Group 2
Sector/Firm
Competitiveness
Group 3
Regional
Competitiveness
Group 4
Institutional
Capacity
Framework
and
(1) Dissemination of information
(2) Productivity
(3) Development of new markets – market research, market intelligence and
market access,
(1) Linkages between sectors
(2) Productivity including management and human capital issues
(3) Cost of doing business
(1) Financing – i.e. access to financing, F.S.P. tends to be risk averse
(2) R&D exploring issues of products, good and services
(3) Transportation – transport of goods and people
(1) The absence of a common vision
(2) Insufficient resources – inadequate institutional structures
(3) Weakness in sustainability
Discussion
The absence of a clear vision was mentioned by a participant as the number one (1)
challenge to the achievement of competitiveness. He stressed that there was a need for
expertise to make well-informed decisions to ensure that relevant visions were developed.
Another participant pointed out that access to financing should be included in the list of
constraints. Additional comments supported the view that donor companies needed to
listen to stakeholders to identify the firms that need financing.
Identification of strong companies/sub-sectors in Professional Services
This segment of Session 5 was moderated by Mr. Howard Baron. He informed
participants that it was important to identify strong sub-sectors in the professional
services. The participants were divided into two (2) large groups for this exercise. Group
A was required to assess the professional practices while group B looked at tourism
services. The individual groups were invited to brainstorm based on the following
instructions:
(a)
Think about the strongest organizations and sub-sectors that appear to have
international competitive strengths. State company/sub-sector and country (can
suggest new enterprises that can be created or imported).
(b)
Take three (3) companies or sub-sectors and identify
i. The main international competitive strengths and opportunities
31
ii. Primary weaknesses and challenges
(c)
Suggest how these three companies /sub-sectors might be helped to increase
international trade
After a period of time during which the participants followed the process of identifying
sectors/firms that were winners, the group reconvened to plenary. Tables 10 and 11
present the results of the exercise.
Table 10 – Professional Services Sector (Group A)
Professional
Opportunities/strengths
Weaknesses
Support required
services
Retirement /Nursing  Aging
population
in  Crime
 Database on client
Home
developing countries
 Quality and cost of
services
 Warm friendly, smart people
Medical facilities
 Establish regulatory
 Warm climate
 Cultural differences
framework
 Target Market – USA &  Transferability of social
Europe
security and insurance
 Experience in hospitality
benefits
services
Medical School
 Target market – US
 infrastructure
 promotional support
 Location
 availability of social  security issues
 affordability
services
 market research and
promotion
 branding
 advocacy for policy
formulation
32
Table 11 – showing Tourism Services (Group B)
Strengths
Entertainment
 Brand Recognition
&
 Attracts
local
Culture/culinary
market,
Festivals
international
and
export market
 Portability nature
 Participation
and
promotion of all
indigenous
sectors/culture
 Buffers the cyclical
nature of tourism
 Ready
cash
available
 Link to Diaspora
(food)
Health
&  High
level
of
Wellness
medical
and
surgical procedures
available
 Quality
health
professionals
 Environment
unpolluted
 Natural
products
available
Attractions and  Natural
assets
Activities
including
people
(biodiversity)
 Well
developed
sites
 Cultural
heritage
sites
 Uniqueness
of
attractions
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
 Lack
of
standards,
infrastructure,
(venue), security
food safety
 Absence
of
focus of the
importance of
the festivals etc.
 Merchandising
 IP and Copyright
 Patients
laws
 Broadband
technology
 Use of Diaspora
 Podcast
broadcasting
 Links with filming
industry
 Promote
the
destination
 Standards
of
certification
 Perception and
credibility
 Institutional
ability
to
manage public
health threats
e.g. avian flu
outbreak
 Vulnerability to
disaster
 Carrying
capacity
 Lack
pf
standards and
certification
 Lack of trained
staff
 Weak
infrastructure
 Inadequate
development of
sites
 Indigenous
spa
products
 Ageing population
 Growth in tourism
 Insurance
business
 Spin-off products
 Insurance claims
 Legislation
 Intellectual
property
 Telemediare
 Disease outbreaks
 More
active  Natural disasters
travellers
 High
insurance
 Income
visitor
costs
spending
 Duplication/simula
 More adventure
tion of our sites
tourism
 Exportable
attractions
 Increase
cruise
arrivals
33
F
Session Five - Plenary: From Strategy to Implementation
On Thursday, May 25, during the final session of the workshop, the participants were
asked to return to their original groups of:
Group 1
Country Competitiveness
Group 2
Firm/Sector
Group 3
Regional Competitiveness
Group 4
Institutional capacity and Framework
The four groups were asked to identify activities to address the implementation of the
previously identified strategies. Mr. Ruall Harris, Executive Director of the Barbados
Chamber of Commerce was the chairman for the session. He encouraged participants to
identify activities that COMSEC could support at the country and the regional level.
After a period of group discussion the groups returned to plenary to report their
responses. Table 12 presents the responses of the four groups.
Table 12 – Activities for strategy implementation
Group
1
Strategy
Dissemination of information
Activities
 capacity building
 mechanism for private/public sector collaboration
Productivity improvements
 private /private sector reform
 acceleration of technological innovations
 review legislation/regulation
Development of new markets/ Market  networking
Intelligence /Research
 share databases
 target high potential sectors
 identify centres of excellence for Market Research
2
Increasing linkages between sectors
 deconstruct tourism industry to identify linkages
 research projects to identify the supply and demand
 integrated planning policy
 setting up databases to manage supply and demand
 marketing outlets for small farmer (co-ops)
 cluster approach
 training for farmers (farm tourism)
34
Group
3
Strategy
Access to Financing
Activities
 diversify financial instruments
 identify portfolio of winning bankable projects
 expand the scope of existing developmental banks to
reduce risk
 equity financing
R&D exploring issues of products, good  facilitating investment in R&D (joint ventures)
and services
 modernize Intellectual Property Rights (use regional
models)
 greater
utilization
institutions(innovations)
of
educational
 science parks & incubators
Transportation – transport of goods and  encourage greater co-sharing among airlines
people
 consolidated shipments
 mergers of regional airlines
4
The absence of a common vision
Insufficient resources
institutional structures
Weakness in sustainability
–
 Tripartite consultative process
- clear time frame for decisions
- assign responsibilities
inadequate  align education system with needs of the export sector
 create of financial institutions
 capacity building (form business support institution)
 Iterative monitoring and feedback mechanisms
Discussion
A participant expressed his concerns on the insularity of the region. He stated that the
objective of the workshop was to promote regional collaboration, however, the territories
still appeared to be divided on issues relating to labour, productivity, government and
political issues. The challenge was therefore “how to bridge the existing political divide”.
He also stressed that the consultative process must be sensitive to the differences of each
territory.
The chairman suggested that the private and public sector as well as civil society must be
involved in the development of the vision. There must be a partnership at the national as
well as the regional level. He pointed out that in Grenada a multipartite committee was
formed to support the process.
How to sustain and ensure that the national visions are all-embracing, involving both the
government and the opposition so that when governments change the vision is not cast
aside was of major concern to another participant.
35
The CRNM representative reinforced the point that CARICOM consists of post-colonial
economies. Considering that such economies have a natural dynamic against the
competitiveness push, he asked Nikhail Treebhoohun and Chan Fook Seng to provide
participants with details of how the process sustained itself in other post-colonial
economies such as Mauritius and Singapore respectively. Mr. Treebhoohun recalled that
in Mauritius the private/public sector dialogue worked in support of the NES. The private
sector had their own objectives since they wanted to keep their plantations so they
worked with government to achieve competitiveness. A joint economic committee was
established by the private sector which collaborated with the government. He also
mentioned that tripartite meetings involving the trade unions, employers and the
government were also a part of the process. He opined that governments are generally
reluctant to try new things. In Mauritius’ case the support of the private sector was
acquired first and they were the drivers of the vision.
Similar to Mauritius, Singapore utilises a tripartite system where the National Council
comprising of the Union, Government and the private sector recommend the level of
compensation based on the economic growth of the country. Mr. Fook Seng told the
participants that unlike Mauritius, the government of Singapore owns the vision and takes
leadership. The culture of Singapore allows the government to make decisions and justify
their actions to the private sector. The government sets the objectives for the private
sector and also gives them the roadmap to achieve the objectives. The size of Singapore’s
economy forces firms to internationalize. The government therefore gives incentives to
firms and provides the infrastructure to assist in the internationalization process.
A participant commented that the Caribbean does not have the strong government support
to internationalize mainly because in some cases firms have to face the double taxation
on products at each border and the added cost of doing business regionally. In fact the
participant disclosed there were greater incentives to regionalise outside of CARICOM.
He revealed that it was easier for a regional law firm to enter the US market than it was
for the same firm to expand to another Caribbean island.
The chairman asked Mr. Fook Seng, to what extent the current incentives would be
adversely impacted by the WTO. Mr Fook Seng explained that in the eyes of the WTO,
Singapore is seen as a developing country. Thus, the government negotiated trade
preferences even though these preferences were given on a short term basis and could be
removed at any time.
Other comments related to the vision for competitiveness not being totally led by the
government. Mr. Treebhoohun commented that innovation was important to achieving
competitiveness. However, he emphasised that innovation through taxation should not be
encouraged. This view was also supported by several participants as a fundamental to the
regional objective.
The chairman concluded the session by posing two questions. He asked the participants
to identify one example of what they wanted nationally and regionally and he asked the
Caribbean Export what mechanisms they had in place to encourage firms to regionalise.
A participant responded that at the national level tourism linkages programmes were
needed specifically in Jamaica. This programme could be extended regionally to reduce
tourism leakages
36
Other participants’ responses included the need for innovation at both the national and
regional level to increase competitiveness. A participant pointed out that a process for
elaborating both the national and regional vision was required with the expectation that
the national vision would inform the regional vision. Incentives for firms to
internationalise as well as programmes for the development of SME’s were also
mentioned.
Ms. Taiana Mora-Ramis of the Caribbean Export in her response to the available
mechanisms to promote regionalisation said that the establishment of a BSO network to
develop a common vision was necessary. The BSO network would assist in the
development of instruments to support the service sector. She mentioned that a
mechanism for public/private sector dialogue was at the planning stages.
In his transitioning comments to the participants before the start of the panel discussion,
Mr. Ruall Harris said that the purpose of the previous work group exercise was to identify
activities to advance competitiveness at the national and regional level. He highlighted
that the key findings based on the participant’s responses were:
(a) the need for dissemination of information;
(b) the development of new markets;
(c) creation of linkages;
(d) innovation;
(e) the need for relevant R&D such as the modernisation of intellectual property
laws; and
(f) the need for trans-Caribbean transportation both airlines and shipping
Mr. Harris pointed out that there was considerable discussion on the vision but it should
be noted that the national vision should inform the regional vision and vice versa. He also
mentioned that there was a need for capacity at the institutional level. Mr. Harris
concluded that the way forward included four practical issues including the need for
incentives for local firms to regionalise and possibly internationalize; innovation at the
level of the firm; procedures for arriving at both the national and regional vision; and the
need to develop a programme for SME’s.
37
G
The role of Donor Agencies in the Caribbean – Panel Discussion
The panel was moderated by Ms. Lynette Holder, Executive Director, Caribbean
Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and included a short presentation by the
panellists on their respective agencies. The objective of the panel discussion was to allow
participants to look at the role of the donor agencies in supporting export competitiveness
in the region and some of the challenges that relate to regional export competitiveness.
The panellists included Mike Griffin, Senior Policy Officer, Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO); Ena Harvey, Representative, Inter-American Institute for
Cooperation on Agriculture; Peter Blackman, Portfolio Manager, Private Sector
Development Division, Caribbean Development Bank; Tracie Henriksen, 2nd Secretary
Development, Canadian High Commission; Lennox Forte, Macro Economist, Caribbean
Single Market and Economy Unit; and Cecile Tassin-Pelzer, Head of Economic Section,
Delegation of the European Commission in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean
Food and Agriculture Organization - Mike Griffin
Mr. Griffin gave a brief outline of the structure of the FAO. He mentioned that the
organisation is headquartered in Rome and has 119 member countries. The FAO provides
support for agriculture and has an overall mandate to eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger and ensure environmental stability.
Mr. Griffin indicated that the activities of his organisation were within the four main
areas of disseminating information, sharing policy, providing a meeting place for nations
and bringing knowledge to the field. In terms of export competitiveness within the
region, the FAO was involved in technical assistance programmes to help the islands
modernize and improve agriculture. Even though agriculture was on the decline in some
islands it still contributed significantly to the GDP and was important in maintaining
economic stability. Mr. Griffin further pointed out that the FAO had provided advice on
policy and strategies in some of the islands including St. Kitts, where the FAO assisted
with the diversification and land use management programme.
In terms of trade, Mr. Griffin highlighted that a workshop was organised in Barbados in
2005 to discuss policies relating to regional trade negotiations and rural development
focussing on preferential treatment and special, tropical and sensitive products. He also
mentioned that the FAO was providing technical assistance on a number of projects
including the CARIFORUM/CARICOM Food Security Project, through its SPSF
(Special Programme on Food Security). The objective of this programme was to improve
food security through capacity building, market information and better agricultural
practices. The organization also provided information on food standards.
38
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture - Ena Harvey
Mrs. Ena Harvey focussed her presentation on the success stories of The Inter-American
Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture. She indicated the Institute had offices in 34
countries of the Americas, as well as an office for Europe located in Spain. Within the
Caribbean, IICA has 14 offices. She said that within the Caribbean, IICA’s responsibility
was to reposition the agricultural sector by promoting linkages with other sectors and
encouraged agribusiness. She further explained that within the Barbados office the focus
was on agroTourism.
Mrs. Harvey remarked that the tourism sector was growing at a rapid rate while the
agricultural sector was declining in most of the islands of the Caribbean. She revealed
that IICA viewed agroTourism as a winning partnership for both the tourism and
agriculture sectors. She also mentioned that IICA believed that a lot of new competitive
industries could be created based on an “old and dying agriculture”. She pointed out that
the infrastructure of agriculture included cultural heritage such as the old sugar mills and
plantation houses.
The presenter highlighted that the Institute recently created the AgroTourism Linkages
Centre for the Caribbean. The priorities of this centre which is based in Barbados
included the exploration of opportunities to effectively link tourism with locally produced
food; and the promotion of the concepts of quality and reliability in food production in
the Caribbean. Mrs. Harvey further mentioned some of the activities of the centre
including an OAS-sponsored project which looked at Strengthening of the Tourism
Sector through the Development of Linkages with the Agricultural Sector in the
Caribbean. She said it was expected that this project would provide economic
opportunities and improve the sustainable development of both the agricultural and
tourism sectors. She further pointed out that tourism would benefit from the development
of creative farm-based products and services, while farmers in poor rural communities
would benefit from the income generated.
Mrs. Harvey explained that IICA as a donor of technical assistance had also been
working with other agencies to provide to provide technical assistance. In 2005, a
workshop on AgroTourism was coordinated during Caribbean Week of Agriculture. This
was hosted in collaboration with the European Union.
Caribbean Development Bank – Peter Blackman
Peter Blackman spoke on the assistance given to the private sector by the Caribbean
Development Bank. He said that the Private Sector Development Unit was responsible
for loan financing and providing technical assistance to the productive sector. He
explained that loan financing for private sector development projects was generally made
available through loans or guarantees of loans to national development banks, or other
suitable intermediaries.
Mr. Blackman pointed out that the Bank was a regional financial institution with
headquarters in Barbados. It consisted of twenty-five (25) member countries, seventeen
(17) of which were borrowing member countries within the Caribbean region. He said
39
that technical assistance was provided to member countries through the Caribbean
Technical Consultancy Services (CTCS) network which was operated by the Technical
Cooperation Unit (TCU) of CDB in cooperation with Regional and National institutions,
laboratories, industrial enterprises and consultants. He explained that this programme
operated in eleven (11) countries and helped to bring skills to small and micro
enterprises, to solve their planning and production problems. He said that the programme
also provided the required expertise at an affordable cost and included assistance such as
facilitating the transfer of techniques using “hands-on” expertise. In addition, regional
and national seminars and workshops were organised to provide training, as well as to
identify promotion and investment opportunities available to Borrowing Member
Countries.
Mr. Blackman made clear that the assistance offered by CDB to private sector companies
was generally of two types (1) to improve the enabling environment for small and microbusinesses and (2) to bring practitioners together to identify what makes small and micro
businesses viable and competitive in a changing environment.
Canadian High Commission - Tracey Henriksen
In her presentation Tracey Henriksen focussed on the assistance given to the region by
the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). She indicated that CIDA was
currently working to enhance the region’s ability to increase their export competitiveness
and investment in the global economy. Ms. Henriksen mentioned that the Agency was
currently working with other donor agencies such as USAID, to provide an enabling
environment for the region. She also commented that Canada encouraged partnerships
between Regional and Canadian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) through the
Industrial Cooperation Program.
Mrs. Henriksen further commented that CIDA recognised the need for Caribbean islands
to achieve regional cooperation and integration to promote competitiveness within the
region and within the global market. To achieve this, Mrs. Henriksen said that CIDA was
continuing to provide assistance to the Caribbean through regional programmes and
projects that encouraged collaboration among members of the Organisation of Eastern
Caribbean States (OECS) and the Caribbean Community and Common Market
(CARICOM), for example, the Regional Trade Policy Project was helping the Caribbean
Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) to develop the required expertise to allow the
region to effectively participate in international and regional trade negotiations. CIDA
also supported the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Protocol II which
dealt with Right of Establishment, Provision of Services and Movement of Capital in the
CSME.
40
Caribbean Single Market and Economy Unit - Lennox Forte
Mr. Lennox Forte of the CSME Implementation Unit updated the participants on the
benefits of the CSME to the region and also the challenges of implementation. He
mentioned that the Implementation Unit which was based in Barbados was divided into
four (4) main areas based on the CSME mandate. These four areas included institutional
and legal framework; market access; the macroeconomic framework; and sectoral policies
Mr Forte underscored that the CSME was intended to benefit the people of the Caribbean
region by providing more and better opportunities to produce and sell goods and services
and to attract investment. He further explained that the CSME would create a more
favourable business environment aimed at attracting investors both regionally and
internationally. He also indicated that the CSME would benefit business people since
under this agreement traders would have the regional market for their goods and services.
He pointed out that import license for goods originating from a CARICOM country
would no longer be required, thus, it was expected that the CSME would create a more
diversified, globally competitive structure for the production of goods and services destined
for the global market.
Mr. Forte commented that the provisions of the CSME based on the revised Treaty of
Chaguaramas all related to competitiveness. The nine (9) provisions included
establishment; services and capital; industrial policy; trade policy; agricultural policy;
transport policy; disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors; competition policy and
consumer protection, dumping and subsidies; disputes settlement. In addition,
macroeconomic policy convergence, fiscal harmonization, monetary union/single
currency, as well as the Caribbean Court of Justice, were considered part of the mandate
for the implementation of the CSME.
Mr. Forte was concerned that the implementation of the CSME was faced with
challenges. He mentioned that some of these challenges included issues relating to
commitment and to financial constraints of some member countries which affected their
ability to allocate resources for the implementation of CSME. He said that the
organization of business was also a significant constraint influencing the acceptance of
CSME since in several islands businesses were either family-owned or sole
proprietorships with no provisions for expansion to achieve competitiveness. He further
commented that a national mindset against regional integration was another major
challenge being presented. He concluded that many of the islands were become more
insular and fearful of the free movement of people, a fear which was influencing their
acceptance of the CSME.
Delegation of the European Commission in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean - Cecile
Tassin-Pelzer
Mrs. Cecile Tassin-Pelzer said that the goal of the delegation within the Caribbean was to
support regional integration. She mentioned the economic partnership agreement (EPA)
which encouraged sustainable growth and development. The EU had in the past provided
assistance to the region through its CDE and PROINVEST programmes which aimed at
increasing investments between the region and European tourism. She said that The
41
European Development fund was now in its 10th programme and it continued to support
initiatives in the region.
Commonwealth Secretariat – Mr. Andrew Satney
Mr. Satney of the COMSEC gave a brief outline of the COMSEC’s work within the
region. He said that the SASD was working to improve export competitiveness within the
region by helping countries such as Belize, St. Vincent and Grenada develop NES. He
said the COMSEC had several divisions including Governance, Legal section for drafting
and Education and Health sections. The SASD provided assistance in the areas of Trade,
Economic and Legal Services, Enterprise and Agriculture and Debt Management. Mr.
Satney also mentioned the Promotion of Professional Services in the Commonwealth
Caribbean project which he said was scheduled to start in July.
Discussion
During the discussion the participants raised a number of points and engaged in lively
dialogue. The moderator posed the first question to the CSME representative querying
the progress of the legal and administrative framework. Mr. Lennox Forte in his response
informed the participants that there were challenges in the area of labour and skills
training. He revealed that the legislation had been prepared for the removal of
restrictions. However, there were constraints at the national level since legal drafting
services were at a high premium within the region. He also dais that the administrative
framework could not be completed until the law was passed in each country.
The discussion continued to focus on the CSME with participants requesting information
on the deadline for the implementation of the Customs Union. Mr. Forte explained that
the implementation of the Customs Union was within the mandate of the single economy
which was still to be completed.
The discussion also addressed the difficulties in creating linkages between agriculture
and tourism. Mrs Ena Harvey in her response stated that agriculture and tourism
competed for similar resources including land and water. She pointed out that in most
countries agriculture was losing out where arable land was being used for golf courses
and to build hotels and condominiums. Thus, given the competition for the basic
resources, she said that policies relating to the price of land and land use at the national
level should be considered. She indicated that there should be space allocated for
dialogue on common policy planning for agriculture and tourism. She also commented
that IPR policies were needed to protect property such as indigenous spa, herbal and
botanical preparations that were being exported. Mrs. Harvey supported this comment by
pointing out that in 2005, the Caribbean Spa and Wellness Centre was formed in Jamaica.
One of the objectives of this organisation concerned the identification of an indigenous
product to export. She pointed out that in such cases local people should benefit from the
use of their knowledge.
Mrs. Harvey further highlighted the need for policies to protect farmers who were
engaged in farm tours such as policies relating to the safeguarding of farms from diseases
and the safeguarding of tourist from danger while on the farms.
42
The support of the donor agencies in the promotion of export competitiveness was also
discussed. Ms. Tracey Henriksen of CIDA mentioned her agency was collaborating with
other donor agencies and supporting those agencies that provided technical assistance. At
the regional level CIDA was working with CARICOM. Mr. Blackman of CDB pointed
out the CDB was working in collaboration with various agencies to provide technical
assistance on areas such as business enhancement. He also said that CDB managed funds
for agencies. Mrs. Cecile Tassin-Pelzer indicated that co-ordination among the donor
agencies was necessary, since some agencies were funding agencies while others
provided technical assistance.
Issues such as improvements to the commercialisation of innovative processes were also
discussed. Participants were informed that CDB had no projects specifically geared to
increase innovation however, the CTCS programme allowed persons to submit proposals.
These proposals were assessed for funding. There was also the Caribbean Investment
Fund (CIF) which provided venture capital or equity financing to SMEs.
There was also discussion on the regional mechanisms needed to regulate and monitor
food and health standards to allow regional food handlers access to international markets
such as the EU and North America. Mr. Griffin of the FAO mentioned that his
organisation was working with vet laboratories within the region to upgrade their level of
testing and also with food handlers to improve their standards. Mrs Harvey mentioned
the need to get regional legislation concerning SPS for the region.
Mrs. Harvey mentioned some of the agribusiness projects that were in the developmental
phases including the Black Belly Sheep and the farm tourism projects.
The panel discussion concluded with Taiana Mora-Ramis of the Caribbean Export
imploring participants to collaborate and prioritise the objectives that they wanted to
achieve at the regional level identifying the critical needs in the process. She further
stated that donor agencies were seeking to avoid duplication of assistance. Therefore the
responsibility was on the region to set clearly defined needs and communicate these
needs to the donor agencies so that the agencies could collaborate and address the critical
export competitiveness needs of the region.
H
Way Forward and Closing
Nikhail Treebhoohun thanked Caribbean Export for collaborating with COMSEC on the
workshop. He also thanked the panellists for their participation. Mr. Treebhoohun noted
that the COMSEC had initiated the process of regional export competitiveness by
providing the collaborative environment for the participants. He also commented that the
workshop had provided the opportunity for COMSEC as well as the donor agencies
present to learn of the regional issues concerning export competitiveness. Mr.
Treebhoohun pointed out that several activities were identified which the donors should
consider. He told the participants that the process had just begun and that they should
discuss the identified priorities at the national level and become more focus.
43
He also commented that the participants appeared to be confused between the national
and regional competitiveness. He further commented that regional competitiveness could
only be successful if all the islands were at the same level of development. He reiterated
that regional competitiveness should only be considered if there is homogeneity of
economies. He told the participants that to achieve their objectives they should have the
right tools and know when to use them. He emphasised that the workshop had provided
the participants with the tools and that they should know use them.
Taiana Mora-Ramis thanked the Caribbean Export Staff and the presenters for their
support in organizing the workshop. She commented that the current environment
presented a challenge when addressing competitive issues at the national and regional
level. However, the Caribbean Export had several projects in view that could be of
assistance to the region.
Ms. Mora-Ramis confirmed the commitment of the Caribbean Export to supporting the
region as in their pursuit to achieve export competitiveness. She thanked the participants
for their contributions. Each participant received a certificate in acknowledgement of
their participation in the Regional Workshop of Competitiveness Strategies.
44
ANNEXES
List of Acronyms
BSO
Business support Organisation
CARICOM
Caribbean Community and Common Market
CARIFORUM Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific states
CBI
Caribbean Basin Initiative
CDB
Caribbean Development Bank
CIDA
Canadian International Development Agency
COMSEC
Commonwealth Secretariat
CRNM
CARICOM Negotiating Machinery
CSME
CARICOM Single Market and Economy
CTCS
Caribbean Technical Consultancy Services
FAO
Food and Agriculture Organisation
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
HACCP
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
HR
Human Resource
IICA
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
ICT
Information and Communication Technologies
IPR
Intellectual Property Rights
IT
Information Technology
ISO
International Standards Organisation
LNG
Liquefied Natural Gas
NES
National Export Strategy
NGO
Non-Governmental Organisation
OAS
Organisation of American States
OECS
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
R&D
Research and Development
SASD
Special Advisory Services Division
SME
Small and Medium Enterprises
SPS
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
45
List of Participants
Antigua & Barbuda
Mr. Joseph Sealey
Acting Industrialization Officer
Ministry of Industry and Commerce
Antigua & Barbuda W.I.
Fax: 001 268 462 1625
Email: trade@antigua.gov.ag
Belize
Mr Roberto Harrison
Manager – Export Promotion & Marketing
Belize Trade and Investment Development Services (BELTRAIDE)
Belize
Tel:
00 501 822 3737
Fax:
00 501 822 0595
Mr Evan Tillett
Human Resources Manager
Director of Finance and Administration
Belize Tourism Board
Belize
Tel:
00 501 223-1913
Fax:
00 501 223-1943
Email: evan@travelbelize.org
Dominica
Mr Gregoire Thomas
General Manager
Dominica Export Import Agency
Dominica
Tel: 767-448-2780/3494
Fax: 767-448-6308
Email: dexia@cwdom.dm
Mr. John Robin
Agro-processors Association of Dominica
C/o Benjo’s Seamoss
PO Box 2065
# 19 Canfield Industrial Estate
Commonwealth of Dominica
Email: benjoseamoss@cwdom.dm
Tel: +767 448 1650 Fax: +767 449 8358
Grenada
Mr Christopher de Riggs
Executive Director
GCIC Secretariat
Grenada
Tel:001-473-440-4485/440-2937
Fax:001-473-440-6627
46
Email: gcic@caribsurf.com.
Ms Kisha Gellineau
Trade Officer
Ministry of Finance and Industry
Grenada
Tel: 001 473 440 2214
Fax: 001 473 440 0775
Email: kisha.gellineau@gov.gd
Jamaica
Ms Arlene Martin
Manager, Caribbean Business Opportunity Service (CBOS)
Jamaica Export and Investment Promotions Agency
18 Trafalgar Road
Kingston 10
Jamaica, West Indies
Tel: (876) 978-7755 or 3337 ext.2282
Fax: (876) 978-4173/ 946-0090
email: amartin@jamprocorp.com
Ms Sisporansa Stanford
Trade Officer
The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica
39 Hope Road
Kingston 10
Jamaica, West Indies
Tel No.: (876) 927-6238 ext 2246
Fax No.:(876) 927-5137
Email: sisporansas@psoj.org
St. Lucia
Mr Brian Louisy
Executive Director
St Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture
Castries
St Lucia
Tel: 00 1 758 452 3165/453 1540
Fax: 00 1 758 453 6907
Email: info@stluciachamber.org
St. Kitts & Nevis
Mr Rodney Rogers
Small Enterprise Development Unit
Church Street
Bassettere
St Kitts
Tel: 001 869 465 4016
Fax: 001 869 465 2288
Trinidad & Tobago
Mr Wayne Punnette
Ag Director, Trade Facilitation
Ministry of Trade and Industry
47
Level 14 Riverside Plaza
Besson Street
Port of Spain
Trinidad
Tel: 001 868 625-3819; PBX: 623-8847/9 Ext 2120
Fax: 001 868 624-9594
Email: wpunnette@tradeind.gov.tt
Mrs Natasha Mustapha-Scott
Chief Executive Officer
Trinidad & Tobago Manufacturers' Association (TTMA) TTTMA Building
42 Tenth Avenue, Barataria
Trinidad
Tel: 001 868 675-8862
Fax: 001 868 675-9000/8681/Email: gm@ttma.com
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Miss Fay Fergusson
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Trade
Kingstown
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Tel; 001 784 456 2442
Fax: 001 784 456 2160
Email: ffergusonmtrade@vincysurf.com
Mr Kenneth Da Silva
Director
Mountain Top Springs
Kingstown
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Fax: 001 784-456-2698
Tel: 001 784-456-1744
48
RESOURCE PERSONS
Dr Auliana Poon
Managing Director
Tourism Intelligence International
50 Richmond Street
Port of Spain
Trinidad West Indies
Tel: 00 1 868 625 4443
Fax: 00 1 868 625 4420
Email: info@tourism-intelligence.com
Mr Sunil Sinha
Emerging Market Economics Ltd.
3 Mill Harbour
London E14 9XP
Tel: +44 207 538 3111
Fax: +44 207 538 3130
Email: sinha@emergingmarkets.co.uk
Mr Howard Baron
Strategem Limited
Hough End Hall
Nell lane
Manchester M21 7AZ
Tel: 0161 860 0344
Fax: 0161 860 0888
Email: hbaron@strategem.co.uk
Mr Chan Fook Seng
Admin/Project Manager
CrimsonLogic Pte Ltd
(Regn No: 198800784N)
31 Science Park Road
The Crimson, Singapore 117611
Main Tel: 65 - 6887 7888
Main Fax: 65 - 6778 5277
DID: 65 – 6887 7121
Fax: 65 – 6778 5277
Email: fookseng@crimsonlogic.com
49
CHAIRPERSONS
Ms Taiana Mora-Ramis
Executive Director
Caribbean Export Development Agency
Mr Ruall Harris
Executive Director
Barbados Chamber of Commerce
Ms Lynette Holder
Executive Director
Caribbean Association of Small and Medium Enterprises
Dr Denny Lewis-Bynoe
Chief Policy Analyst
Central Bank of Barbados
Mr Christopher De Riggs
Executive Director
Grenada Chamber of Commerce
50
BARBADOS
Ms Taiana Mora-Ramis
Executive Director
Caribbean Export Development Agency
Hastings Main Road
Christ Church
Barbados W.I.
Tel: 001 246 436 0578
Fax: 001 246 436 9999
Dr Louis Woodroffe
Director of Foreign Trade
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
1 Culloden Road
St Michael
Barbados W.I.
Tel: 001 246 431 2200/246 431 2275
Fax: 001 246 228 7840
Mrs Sonja Trotman
Director (Ag) Research
Planning and Information Division
Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC)
Mr Lincoln Price
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM)
Ms. Marlene Hewitt
Senior Business Development Officer
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development
International Business and Financial Services Unit
The Business Centre
Upton
St. Michael
Barbados
Tel: (246) 430-2200 (PBX)
Tel: (246) 430-2219 (DIR)
Fax: (246) 429-6849
Email: marlene_hewitt@barbadosbusiness.gov.bb
Ms. Xiomara Archibald
Economist
Central Bank of Barbados
Research Department
Tom Adams Financial Centre
Church Village
St. Michael
Barbados
Tel: (246) 436-6870 Ext 6221
Fax: (246) 427-1431
Email: XOArichibald@centralbank.org.bb
51
Mr. Carlos Wharton
Trade Consultant
Barbados Private Sector Trade Team
Goddard's Complex
Fontabelle
St. Michael
Barbados
Tele: (246) 430-6541 / 228-8901
Fax: (246) 228-8902
Email: carlos.wharton@tradeteam.bb
Ms. Natalie de Caires
Trade Consultant (Tourism)
Barbados Private Sector Trade Team
Goddard's Complex
Fontabelle
St. Michael
Barbados
Tele: (246) 430-6541 / 228-8901
Fax: (246) 228-8902
Email: Natalie.decaires@tradeteam.bb
Ms. Beverley Alleyne
Business Development Officer
Barbados Investment & Development Corporation
"Pelican House"
Princess Alice Highway
St. Michael
Barbados
Tel: (246) 427-5350
Fax: (246) 426-7802)
Email: balleyne@bidc.org
Ms. Denise Lawrence
Business Development Officer
Barbados Investment & Development Corporation
"Pelican House"
Princess Alice Highway
St. Michael
Barbados
Tel: (246) 427-5350
Fax: (246) 426-7802)
Email: dlawrence@bidc.org
Ms. Carol Ann Burke
Senior Business Development Officer (Ag.)
Ministry of Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Business Development
Reef Road, Fontabelle
St. Michael
Barbados
Tel.: (246) 427-5270/228-1399
Fax.: (246) 431-0056
Email:Carol-Ann.Burke@commerce.gov.bb
52
Ms. Gale Yearwood
Senior Research Officer
Ministry of Tourism & International Transport
Sherbourne Conference Centre
Two Mile Hill
St. Michael
Tel.: (246) 430-7500
Fax: (246) 436-4828
Email: yearwoodg@barmot.gov.bb
Ms. Shennel Richards
Economist
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
Foreign Trade Division
1 Culloden Road
St. Michael
Tel.: (246) 431-2282
Fax: (246) 228-7840
Email: srichards@foreign.gov.bb
Mr Michael Griffin
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
Second Floor, United Nations House
Marine Gardens, Hastings
Christ Church
Barbados
Tel: 001 246 426 7110/429 2002
Fax: 001 246 427 6075
Email: Michael.griffin@fao.org
Dr. Denny Lewis-Bynoe
Chief Policy Analyst,
Research Department
Central Bank of Barbados
Mrs Ena Harvey
Representative
IICA
Chelsea House
Chelsea Road
St Michael
Ena.Harvey@iica.int
Mr Luther G Miller
Director of Finance & Resource Management
Caribbean Tourism Organisation
1 Financial Place, Collymore Rock
St Michael
Barbados
Tel: 001 246 427 5242
Fax: 001 246 429 3065
Email: Imiller@caribtourism.com
Mr. Darwin Clarke
Consultant
declarke@caribsurf.com
53
Mr. McHale Andrew
Consultant – Research and Development
Caribbean Tourism Organisation
1 Financial Place, Collymore Rock
St Michael
Barbados
Tel: 001 246 427 5242
Fax: 001 246 429 3065
Mr. Peter Blackman
Portfolio Manager
Private Sector Development Division
Caribbean Development Bank
Wildey
St Michael
Barbados
Tel 246-431-1600
Email blackmp@caribank.org
Ms. Tracie Henriksen
2nd Secretary Development
Canadian High Commission
Bishop’s Court Hill
St Michael
Barbados
Email tracie.henriksen@international .gc.ca
Mrs. Cecile Tassin-Pelzer
Head of Economic Section
Delegation of the European Commission in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean
P OBox 654C
Bridgetown
Barbados
Tel: 001 246 434 8516/8501
Fax: 001 246 427 8687
54
CARIBBEAN EXPORT DEVELOPMENT AGENCY - PARTCIPANTS
Mr. Collin Bully
Executive Director
OECS Export Development Unit
Financial Centre
Kennedy Avenue
Roseau
Commonwealth of Dominica
Tel: 767-448 2240/5503
Fax: 767 448 5554
Email: cbully@oecs-edu.org
Ms. Leela Narinesingh
Specialist – Private Sector Facilitation
Caribbean Single Market and Economy Unit
6th Floor
Tom Adams Financial Centre
Bridgetown, Barbados
Tel: 246 429 5449/6159/6064
Fax: 246 437 2689
leelan@csme.com.bb
Mr. Lenox Forte
CARICOM CSME Implementation Unit
6th Floor, Tom Adams Financial Centre
Church Village, Bridgetown
Barbados
Tel: 246 429 6064
Fax: 246 437 2689
lenoxf@csme.com.bb
Ms Carol Lynch
Business Development Officer
Centre for International Services
University of the West Indies
Cave Hill Campus
St Michael, Barbados
Tel: 246 417 4805/4533
Fax 246 417 4058
Email: clynch@uwichill.edu.bb
Mrs Denise Goolsarran
OAS/UWI Trade Capacity Building Project Support Officer
Centre for International Services
University of the West Indies
Cave Hill Campus
St Michael, Barbados
Tel: 246 417 4805/4533
Fax 246 417 4058
Email: dgoolsarran@uwichill.edu.bb
55
CARIBBEAN EXPORT DEVELOPMENT AGENCY STAFF – BARBADOS
Ms. Taiana Mora Ramis
Executive Director
Ms. Veona Maloney
Manager – Core Services
Mr. Ronald Dubrisingh
Manager – EDF Project
Ms. Clarecia Christie
Marketing Officer
Mr. Sam Kruiner
Technical Advisor – EDF Project
Rapporteur
Mrs. Jacqueline Gill
56
COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT
Mr. Nikhil Treebhoohun
Adviser and Head, Trade
Special Advisory Services Division
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House
Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5HX
Tel:
00 44 207 747 6302
Fax:
00 44 207 747 6203
Email: n.treebhoohun@commonwealth.int
Mr. Andrew Satney
Adviser, Trade
Special Advisory Services Division
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House
Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5HX
Tel:
00 44 207 747 6268
Fax:
00 44 207 747 6203
Email: a.satney@commonwealth.int
Mrs Chanda Chella
Adviser, Trade
Special Advisory Services Division
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House
Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5HX
Tel:
00 44 207 747 6298
Fax:
00 44 207 747 6203
Email: c.chellah@commonwealth.int
Mrs Manel Herath
Programme Assistant
Special Advisory Services Division
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House
Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5HX
Tel:
00 44 207 747 6448
Fax:
00 44 207 747 6203
Email:m.herath@commonwealth.int
57
Revised Workshop Programme
REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON EXPORT COMPETITIVENESS STRATEGIES
BARBADOS
23 – 25 MAY 2006
Venue: Amaryllis Hotel, Barbados
Day
23 May 2006
Time
8.00 – 9.00 a.m.
Activity
Registration of participants
Responsibility
Caribbean Export Staff
and Commonwealth
Secretariat (ComSec)
Programme Assistant
9.00 – 9.30 a.m.
Opening Session
Remarks
 Adviser & Head of Trade Section;
Special Advisory Services Division
 Executive Director;
Caribbean Export
 Director of Foreign Trade
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
Barbados
Export Competitiveness: Getting down to
basics
Chairperson (Ms.
Taiana Mora-Ramis)
Nikhil Treebhoohun
9.30 – 10.00 a.m.
10.00 – 10.30 a.m.
Tea Break
10.30 – 1.00 p.m.
Session One : Country Presentations
7-minute Presentations by Head of
Delegation of each participating Country
Taiana Mora-Ramis
Dr Louis Woodroffe
Nikhil Treebhoohun ComSec
Adviser & Head, Trade
Section
Chairperson:
Dr Denny Lewis-Bynoe
Chief Policy Analyst
Central Bank of
Barbados
Key issues arising from country papers –
Andrew Satney; Commonwealth Secretariat.
24 May 2006
1.00 – 2.00 p.m.
Lunch
2.00 – 6.00 p.m.
Session Two : Case Studies & Plenary
Discussions
4.00-4.1 5pm
Tea Break
 Tourism
 Trade Facilitation
 Services

9.00 – 9.30 a.m.
Caribbean Export Development
Agency
Chairperson: Mr
Andrew Satney
Presenters:
Dr Auliana Poon;
Mr Chan Fook Seng
Mr. Howard Baron
Mr Sunil Sinha;
Ms. Taiana Mora-Ramis
58
9.30 – 11.30 a.m.
Session Three:
Breakaway Sessions
Chair: Caribbean Private Sector
Representative
 Group One – Services
 Group Two – Tourism
 Group Three – Trade Facilitation
 Group Four – National and Sectoral
Export Strategies
Chairperson:
Mr Christopher De
Riggs, Executive
Director, Grenada
Chamber of Commerce
(Coffee/Tea to be taken as group work continues)
11.30 – 1.00 p.m.
Group Presentations
(Maximum 15 minute per group)
1.00 – 2.00 p.m.
Lunch
2.00 – 2.30 p.m.
Session Four
Chairperson:
Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery Ms Veona Maloney,
(CRNM) - Mr Lincoln Price
Manager,
Core
Services,
Caribbean
Export
Session four: Plenary: From Strategy to Chairperson:
Mr
Implementation – followed by group work.
Ronald
Dubrisingh,
Project
Manager,
Caribbean Export
2.30 – 5.00 p.m.
25 May 2006
(*)
9.00 – 11.000a.m.
Plenary: From Strategy to Implementation:
Chairperson:
Mr
Ruall
Harris,
Executive
Director,
Barbados Chamber of
Commerce
11.00 – 11.15 p.m.
Tea Break
11.15 – 1.00 p.m.
Panel discussions with Donor Agencies in the Chairperson: (*)
Caribbean
Ms Lynette Holder,
Executive
Director,
Caribbean Association
of Small and Medium
Enterprises
1.00 – 2.00 p.m.
Lunch
2.00 – 3.45 p.m.
Way Forward and Closing:
(Group work and Report Presentation).
Nikhil Treebhoohun ComSec
Adviser & Head, Trade
Section/ Taiana Mora
Ramis,
Executive
Director
Caribbean Export
Nikhil Treebhoohun to give ‘Overview Statement’
59