Though Barbados has been spared from the expected fallout from the United States (US) and China trade stand-off, Crop Over bandleaders are still closely monitoring the situation.
They said while it is not expected that masqueraders will have to pay more, finding alternative source markets may be necessary.
Vida X Esquire’s Ryan Forde said their finance and production teams were keeping an eye on the situation.
“We tend to order way in advance, so currently we haven’t seen any adjustments in cost to our band . . . . Should we eventually have an impact, it will call for collaborative approaches from 2026 onwards . . . and looking at other markets to source items and to transit. External shocks will always be around, but we can’t be caught off-guard last-minute because it isn’t good for the bands nor revellers,” he said.
Vida X Esquire is one of several Grand Kadooment bands that have launched for 2025.
President of the Barbados Association of Masqueraders Bryan Worrell said it all depended on where the materials are sourced.
“Tariffs will only have an impact on you if you are shipping out of certain countries to the United States and then to Barbados. If you are shipping directly here, they won’t impact you, but it is something you have to keep an eye on,” he told the DAILY NATION.
Worrell noted that several bands, including his Colorz Entertainment, had already launched – which meant that prices were set before the move by the US government was made.
“If your expenses go up then, obviously, that could impact the consumer, but bands were already launched so it’s not possible for them to think about changing their prices because they’ve already set them. So if there are any losses, they would have to be absorbed by the band,” he said.
Worrell also said that they might have to find alternatives.
Hijack Inc has not yet launched and bandleader Jason Thompson said since the tariff discussion, he made plans to work more closely with regional and local suppliers.
“I’ve reached out to my suppliers and asked them whether there will be an increase, but they haven’t given me an answer as yet. I have put systems in place for local and regional production, so I don’t have to go to China this year.
“I don’t want to be in a position where I price costumes and have to absorb the costs, because obviously I can’t pass that on to the masquerader because it’ll already be priced,” Thompson added.
He said the situation was challenging because items such as feathers, gems and certain fabrics were more affordable to source from China.
“You may like a particular fabric style but when you go back for the quantity here, if you want 60 yards, you may not be able to get that quantity, so that’s why sometimes you have to get from China.”
Earlier this year, the Donald Trump administration revealed plans to impose port fees on Chinese ships in an effort to revive shipping in America and challenge China’s dominance of the industry. The port fees for Chinese ships to dock in the US were expected to be in excess of US$1 million.
However, the Caribbean was granted an exemption after successful lobbying to the US government by the US shipping company Tropical Shipping, CARICOM and the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation.
