EDITORIAL: Safeguard interests in rum industry
AS Barbados looks to recover from the fallout of COVID-19 and towards economic recovery, it would be interesting to know what became of the plans to challenge the unfair competition that was given to its rum industries.
Since the country has to stimulate its industries and economic sub-sectors and get them roaring along, all the impediments to their success have to be erased.
Caribbean producers – not only in Barbados – raised concerns about unfair competition from some United States’ Caribbean territories. There were suggestions in various quarters then that the matter be raised with both the US, which has a history of pushing free and fair trade, and with the World Trade Organization (WTO), which has an apparatus in place to deal with such matters.
Nothing of the sort took place over the course of the last five years and it seemed that the industry here and those elsewhere in the region, have resigned to the idea the case was not feasible.
In other words, Caribbean rum-producing nations appeared as though they had no stomach to pursue the matter and that was that.
It is not known what influences were brought to bear on them, even though they indicated their desire to get the matter resolved and at the highest level, given that the economic benefits from rum.
For their part the American territories denied they were offering unfair competition and stated in fact that they were partners to the producers in this part of the region.
It is one of those things which the Caribbean and the integration project it was pushing, no longer consider feasible even as the countries look to reposition their economies.
This newspaper readily recalled that during his presentation at an Economic Forum in Barbados around that time, American Economist, Dr. C. Fred Bergsten did not think Caribbean countries had a leg to stand on in pushing the rum issue at the time, either with American negotiators or at the WTO in Geneva.
It was an uphill battle, he said, at the forum held at what is now the Courtney Blackman Grande Salle of the Tom Adams Financial Centre.
Therefore, it could be that Barbados’ trade diplomats and officials thought that the points raised by Dr. Bergen were valid. We don’t know.
Rum is one of those commodities which earns sizeable inflows of foreign exchange for countries in that line of business. It also provides enormous job opportunities for people and tax revenues to governments, while also purchasing some of the domestic raw materials used in the manufacturing process.
In Barbados the rum industry has become the fastest growing export commodity since the dominance of cane sugar came to an end.
As we speak, plans are being put in place to have the island produce more molasses, one of the materials for the industry, instead of having to turn to imported supplies.
Trade figures have shown that rum exports from Barbados accounted for over $80 million pre-COVID-19. Against that background there is every likelihood it will get back there once the pandemic is either eradicated or the country finds ways to get by without it creating too many setbacks in the future.
We have to safeguard our interests.