The services industry could be the next major foreign exchange earner for the Barbados economy, but action must be taken now to capitalise on its available opportunities.
This call was made by executive director of the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI) Lisa Cummins, who noted that some of the island’s major trading partners were already positioning themselves to emerge “bigger, better, faster, more efficient and more effective” after the recession.
She received immediate support from Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development Donville Inniss, who said Government was interested in working with BCSI to increase benefits from services.
Speaking during the recent Economic Affairs 7th Annual Discussion Series at the Warrens Office Complex, Cummins told a room full of private and public sector representatives that even in a recession, services remained “one of the fastest growing sectors in the global economy”, edging out manufacturing and agriculture.
“In the World Trade Organisation there is something called the Trade in Services Agreement, and this agreement is being negotiated, backed by a group of countries that accounts for approximately, not one or two or 0.6 per cent like Barbados accounts for but 70 per cent of global trade in services in the world. This is a massive amount,” said Cummins.
Cummins said Barbados, like other countries in the region, tended to favour multilateralism and while that was “okay”, it could lead to an outcome like the banana and sugar cane industries.
About 65 per cent of Barbados’ annual gross domestic product derives from services. Cummins said the services industry employed about 75 per cent of the local workforce, 58 per cent of services were exported while 76 per cent of total export came from services.
“The stakes are high. They are high like they have never been high before . . . In a climate where we are facing economic challenges and recessionary conditions, Barbados can no longer afford to continue with the implementation deficit . . . This is not the time for discomfort. This is not one of those times when we are saying things which are uncomfortable for you to hear because you don’t want to hear them.”
Inniss told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY he was aware of the prospects and his ministry would be working closely with the services industry in an effort to “expand” on existing opportunities and identify new ones.
“The BCSI really has high energy levels and we are going to work very closely with them continuously to get Barbadian service providers into other markets,” he said.