Caribbean governments must modernise border systems, reduce port and travel costs, and improve real-time data sharing to protect regional trade and economies from increasingly permanent global disruptions, speakers at a Central Bank of Barbados seminar have warned.
Outdated border regulations, cumbersome customs procedures and persistent data silos are stifling intra-regional trade and leaving domestic economies vulnerable to global trade shocks, said Ryan Forde, chief executive of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association.
Executive Director, Barbados Manufacturers Association, Shardae Boyce speaking with moderator Nkenge Lawrence, Assistant Advisor to the Governor of the Central Bank during a panel discussion at the 46th Central Bank Annual Review at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center (Photo credit: Ricardo Roberts / Barbados TODAY)
Deputy Central Bank Governor Dr Alwyn Jordan (Photo credit: Ricardo Roberts / Barbados TODAY)
Economist Professor Justin Robinson (Photo credit: Ricardo Roberts / Barbados TODAY)
Lead Trade Specialist, IDB Krista Lucenti (Photo credit: Ricardo Roberts / Barbados TODAY)
In a keynote panel discussion on navigating global trade fragmentation Forde argued that the Caribbean continues to drag its feet on essential border and operational modernisation, forcing businesses to operate with tools from a bygone era.
He highlighted severe gaps in real-time data collection across key industries, including agriculture, manufacturing and hospitality, which hamper strategic decision-making and inflate operating costs.
“The stronger that we make those prerequisites of data collection and sharing, then we can make it more profitable to be using more locally here,” Forde said, noting that competing destinations in the wider region are already leveraging instantaneous arrival and market data to drive policy and targeted marketing.
“If we have our competitors, some islands that are smaller using data more efficiently than we are, then we are still stuck in the 90s.”
Forde further pointed to significant inefficiencies at entry ports and high inter-island travel fees as self-inflicted barriers to economic expansion, urging leaders to move past political finger-pointing.
He noted that high regional transport costs discourage both tourists and residents from multi-destination travel, while administrative inconsistencies at entry points undermine cross-border commerce.
Supporting these concerns, Shardae Boyce, executive director of the Barbados Manufacturers’ Association, emphasised that local producers face severe hurdles from fragmented supply chains and rising input prices.
She explained that manufacturers are attempting to adapt by pooling purchasing power to buffer against external price hikes.
“Inputs supply becomes a challenge in a trade-fragmented environment, and we are seeing conversations happening in terms of how manufacturers can now consolidate inputs,” she noted. “When you buy in bulk, you have the opportunity to bring down the cost of the product, which will have a positive impact on consumers.”
From an international development perspective, Krista Lucenti, representing the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), warned that current global trade disruptions are not temporary adjustments but permanent structural shifts resulting from decades of rapid trade liberalisation and concentrated supply networks. She urged Caribbean governments to address long-standing internal inefficiencies rather than waiting for external market stabilisation.
“We have to take a look at our border inefficiencies, port fees in this region, and our sanitary and phytosanitary standards which are not at the level they need to be if we are to become more food-exporting.”
She urged regional authorities to tackle non-tariff barriers and update port governance models, adding that modern special economic zones tailored for service industries could help smaller territories overcome limitations of scale.
Lucenti highlighted a lack of cross-agency co-ordination among border agencies spanning customs, health and agricultural inspections, leaving many Caribbean ports stuck in obsolete governance frameworks.
“In this region there are significant border inefficiencies. Many of our ports are still tool ports; they are not landlord models. The port governance is still from another era”, she warned, calling on regional governments to make ‘difficult decisions’ that may be politically unpopular but essential for long term survival.
The post Experts urge border reform to counter trade fragmentation appeared first on Barbados Today.
