Senator Lisa Cummins, Chairman of Barbados Port Inc. in conversation with Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce Minister, Dwight Sutherland, Robert Noel, President, Barbados Manufacturers Association, Shardae Boyce, Executive Director, Barbados Manufacturers Association and Katrina Bradshaw, Chief Economist, Ministry of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce.
Putting the work in
The Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce Ministry is working assiduously with the Ministry of Finance, the Customs Department, Barbados Port Inc. and the relevant Border Agencies to resolve this country’s border challenges.
Minister, Dwight Sutherland disclosed this as he revealed that in the World Bank’s recently published “Ease of Doing Business Report 2019”, “Barbados is globally ranked at 132nd out of 190 economies and 23rd out of 32 Latin American and Caribbean economies on the ease of trading across borders.”
He said, “according to this Report, it takes exporters 54 hours and some US$109 to prepare, obtain, submit and process the required export documents and 41 hours and US $350 to comply with border clearance export procedures. The time requirements and costs for imports are even higher.”
Sutherland was at the time speaking to the audience on Wednesday at the Barbados Manufacturers’ Association’s Manufacturers’ Forum on Trade Facilitation at the Accra Beach Hotel & Spa.
He said overall the Report “ranked Barbados 129th out of 190 countries. We are behind Jamaica who is ranked 75th, St. Lucia who is ranked 93rd and Trinidad and Tobago who are ranked 105th. But coming closer, we have also been ranked 23rd out of 32 economies in Latin American and the Caribbean region and we have been ranked ninth out of 15 Caribbean countries. We were doing better before and you know that.”
He added, with regards to the Ease of Doing Business scores, “Barbados’ score is below the average for the Caribbean and Latin America. The average for the Caribbean and Latin American is 58.97 points and we are at 56.78, so we are just below the average and New Zealand who is first has [scored] 87 points.”
He however said that on Resolving Insolvency Barbados is “doing good” and the island “is ranked 34th of 190 economies worldwide.” He further noted that “as Minister responsible for bankruptcy matters, commerce, small business, entrepreneurship and trade facilitation, my Ministry is working with key Government Agencies to improve Barbados’ global doing business and competitiveness ranking and to place the Barbadian economy on a stronger and more sustained trajectory of economic growth and development.” (MG)