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As tourists flock back to the Caribbean in larger numbers and island economies regain their footing after being challenged by global inflation, competition, and other headwinds, opportunities for U.S. suppliers are slowly emerging. While hurdles remain present on the horizon, U.S. suppliers are finding resilient Caribbean buyers to be excellent partners on the road to commercial success.

Demand for U.S. consumer-oriented products in the Caribbean region reached $1.5 billion in 2022, a 26 percent gain compared to the previous year.

Sales in the Caribbean retail grocery sector decreased by 1.7 percent in 2022, primarily as the result of closing retail outlets in the French West Indies.

The Caribbean’s rebound from the economic downturn induced by the COVID-19 pandemic has been slow. Anxious for better times, the region is looking ahead at 2023 and hoping for improved tourist arrivals that will spark a return to more robust economic growth.

The resumption of travel amid a waning COVID-19 pandemic is breathing much-needed fresh air into the Caribbean Hotel Restaurant Institutional (HRI) food service sector. Yet in 2021 sector sales still fell short of pre-pandemic levels.

On May 5, 2022, trade and finance ministers from East African Community (EAC) member countries agreed to raise minimum common external tariffs from 25 to 35 percent on several agricultural products.

Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic (both in terms of public health and economic performance), the tourism-dependent Caribbean is anxiously awaiting a return to more normal times characterized by growing tourist arrivals, which in many ways are the economic lifeblood of the region.

Eager to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind it, the Caribbean is doing all it can to attract visitors and kick-start its tourism sector in 2021.

After exporting a record-high $1.1 billion in consumer-oriented agricultural products to the Caribbean in 2019, U.S. suppliers saw the COVID-19 pandemic take a toll on Caribbean demand...

The Caribbean tourism industry and the hotel/restaurant food service sector have been significantly impacted in both the near and long-term as a result of COVID-19.

This report outlines Barbados’ certification requirements and includes an Export Certificate Matrix as well as examples of select export certificates.

While Barbados is a relatively open market for most U.S. agricultural products, U.S. suppliers need to pay special attention to export certification requirements for a large number of items....