An in-depth focus on Caribbean issues
Expanding Trade Facilitation Assistance from Canada
Once the current Canada-CARICOM Trade and Development Agreement is concluded, Caribbean exporters, tourism and investment agencies should move expeditiously to take advantage of Canadian technical assistance and other grant funds that are being made available to support the new accord.
The Canadian Government has already allocated Cda $18 million for the Americas through its Trade Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) Fund for countries with which it has concluded Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). This includes Chile, Colombia, Peru and Costa Rica.
The Ottawa-based Trade Facilitation Office (TFO), which has developed a relationship with the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) in Barbados and a number of national manufacturers groups in the region, is well poised to expand the scope and number of its projects in the region.
TFO was founded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in 1980 to assist developing countries to export to the Canadian market. It is also the primary provider of information on and linkages to the Canadian import market and is experienced in providing training for exporters.
The non-profit organization has worked in the recent past with the Barbados-based Caribbean Export on projects in the design sector, trade information, health and wellness sectors and was one of the key players in the launch of the Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (CAIPA).
TFO has strongly supported an impressive regional design project “Love, Freedom, Flow: New Caribbean Design”, which had its debut at this month’s prestigious International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York. The project evolved from the initial On-Site Design Caribbean programme managed by TFO in collaboration with Caribbean Export.
Award-winning Canadian designer and consultant Patty Johnson worked closely with a team of designers and with artisan producers, communities and craft production factories in the region that produced twenty-five new furniture, textile, home accessory and lighting products for the U.S. show.
The Caribbean participation is geared to building a presence in the high-end U.S. design market to give the regional producers access to this market and build relationships with buyers that they can exploit over time
Financial and technical support for this particular venture came from Caribbean Export, Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Among the companies that showcased 25 new products are Luna Design and Hamilton’s Pottery  (Barbados) Liana Cane (Guyana), Nanny of the Maroons (Jamaica), Caribbean Creative (Dominica) and Jean Paul Syilvaince (Haiti).
According to Johnson: “There is no point in artisans and craft production factories in the Caribbean competing with mass-produced goods. They can instead compete on the strengths of the product, by focusing on the upper end of the market through high quality materials, detailing, production and design.”
In addition to the regional project, TFO is working with the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GMSA) to develop a Guyana brand and marketing strategy for artisans. The CIDA-funded project involves eight to twelve companies and Amerindian groups, which are expected to participate in the up-scale Interior Design Show (IDS) in Toronto next year.
Under another TFO-GMSA project, packaging companies are receiving assistance to upgrade the quality of packaging and improve the sourcing of packaging materials.
TFO is also assisting Guyanese fresh food exporters to get more exposure to the Canadian market by coordinating, on a cost-sharing basis, a Guyanese presence at the just-concluded Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) Convention in Vancouver, one of the largest in Canada. Guyanese company Mohan Enterprises and the Guyana office of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) were among the 250 exhibitors that displayed produce to buyers from across Canada, the United States, Mexico and a few other countries.
The TFO also recently supported the initiative of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) High Commission in Ottawa to invite buyers from the Liquor Control Boards in Quebec, British Columbia, New Brunswick and New foundland and Labrador to St. Lucia and Grenada to get a first-hand look at distilleries there and discuss export opportunities to the Canadian market.
TFO is planning a few other trade missions from Guyana to Canada later this year.
Exposure to the vast, diverse and potentially lucrative Canadian market will only translate into serious business with on-going marketing efforts. Caribbean producers will need to ensure they can fulfill high and low volume orders, with consistently high quality, at competitive prices with on time delivery. Critical to their success, is access to affordable working capital, which will equip them to boost exports that will generate much-needed foreign exchange. In this regard, Caribbean governments, banks and private sector agencies all have a role to play.
Another sector the TFO is convinced can earn the region more hard currency is the health and wellness sector, which has been a focus of assistance from the Canadian Trade Facilitation Office. The agency built on Commonwealth Secretariat-funded studies to identify opportunities for further investment and development.

TFO’s Executive Director, Brian Mitchell, describes this Caribbean service sector as a “robust area for development”. Mitchell says the thrust of new initiatives will be to expand from the “soft-type” projects like spas into more mainstream medical services for visitors to the Caribbean.
One area where Caribbean government ministries and agencies can take advantage of is TFO’s expertise in training Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) in commercial relations, trade promotion and investment attraction. TFO, which recently provided assistance and training in investment attraction in Eastern Europe and South Africa, is keen on continuing similar work in the Caribbean.
Assistance to the region in this area is likely to be coordinated through Caribbean Export and CAIPA, which was launched in 2007 to facilitate the collaboration of regional Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs).
Some CARICOM Member States did not participate in CAIPA’s launching or follow-up activities that included TFO training in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Attraction and CAIPA’ s study tour of Ireland, which has one of the most highly rated investment promotion agencies globally. Those Caribbean countries should seize any future opportunities to sharpen the skills of those who have a mandate to lure scarce global investment dollars to CARICOM Member States.
For Caribbean companies, government and private sector agencies to capitalise on the expected expansion in Canadian technical assistance to the region, some of the bureaucratic hurdles will need to be addressed. These include lengthy delays in granting approval for project proposals and government technocrats not advising trade promotion and investment agencies of available opportunities for institutional strengthening and enhancing marketing strategies.
(The writer is a business consultant and specialist in Caribbean Affairs)