December 19, 2019 | Attaché Report (GAIN) Show Link to report:In 2018, the United States exported over $1 Billion in U.S. consumer-oriented products to the Caribbean Basin. With limited agricultural production, most Caribbean islands rely heavily on imported food products, particularly from the United States. The United States, with a 53 percent market share, is the main supplier of food products to the Caribbean. This report aims to provide U.S. suppliers general information on export opportunities in the Caribbean Basin. Caribbean Basin: Exporter Guide Exports from Latin America and the Caribbean rebound despite pandemic Exports from Latin America and the Caribbean increased 31.2 percent in the
first half of 2021, driven by the dynamism of external demand, the lifting of restrictions on mobility, and progress of vaccination campaigns against COVID-19, according to a new report from the Inter-American Development Bank. The rebound puts the region's external sales of goods 11 percent above the same period in 2019, after falling 9.2 percent in 2020 due to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. In contrast, exports of services registered a 33.8 percent drop after
contracting 38.5 percent in 2020. More traditional items such as travel and transportation were hit hardest, while intensive knowledge-based services proved more resilient. This year's issue of the Trade and Integration Monitor report, which analyzes trade flows in Latin America and the Caribbean through the first half of 2021, projects the continuation of an upward trend in the region's exports for the rest of the year, despite some signs of a slowdown. "For Latin America and the Caribbean, importing economic growth from the rest of the world through international trade is critical," said Paolo Giordano, Principal Economist at the IDB's Integration and Trade Sector, who coordinated the report. "The slowdown in export expansion indicates that, to reactivate a cycle of sustained and inclusive growth, it is essential to place external competitiveness at the center of the development agendas of the countries of the region."  The report notes that while shipments to North America and Asia made the most significant contribution to the region’s trade recovery, intraregional exports (36.9 percent) rallied more than extra-regional sales (30.4 percent). The share of intraregional trade rose by 0.5 percentage points to account for 13.5 percent of the region’s total. The region's increase in export prices contributed almost 60 percent of the year-on-year expansion in external sales. This is due mostly to the price performance of the region’s main exports of goods: oil prices increased by 57.7 percent, those of copper by 65.6 percent, iron ore by 104.4 percent, soybeans by 65.7 percent, coffee by 21.1 percent, and sugar by 34.4 percent. In terms of subregions, goods exports increased by 29.4 percent in Mesoamerica, 32.9 percent in South America, and 31.9 percent for a sample of Caribbean countries. The region’s imports also regained momentum, growing by 31.5 percent. A new indicator developed for this study to monitor the progress of Latin American regional integration highlights the need to increase the effectiveness of integration instruments. In comparative terms, the indicator for Latin America and the Caribbean stands below Asia and Europe, and it did not advance significantly in the last decade. The report concludes that, in order for the external sector to continue sustaining economic growth and social progress, countries in the region must, among other things, advance in the pending issues to further external competitiveness, adapt to the new direction of post-COVID global value chains, strengthen mechanisms for international cooperation and regional integration, and promote complementary policies to improve productivity. About us The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region. What is the Caribbean main source of income?Although some islands like Anguilla, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands heavily rely on tourism and financial services to earn foreign currency, the majority of Caribbean nations make money from exporting raw materials and manufactured goods to international markets.
What are 3 major resources of the Caribbean?Within the Caribbean, some of the most important deposits of bauxite and lateritic nickel, as well as significant deposits of gold and silver, copper, zinc, manganese, cobalt, and chromium, are hosted in the Greater Antilles (Nelson, 2011).
What industry dominates the Caribbean?Indeed, although other industries including bauxite, petroleum, sugar and international banking make significant economic contributions in Caribbean countries, the region is highly identified internationally in terms of its very image with the tourism industry.
What is the Caribbean's greatest resource?Natural resources
It has been noted by some that the Caribbean's most important resource is its tropical island setting, which has generated an important tourism sector.
|
