When in the early 1990s it became apparent that Europe’s preferential regimes for Caribbean bananas and sugar were coming to an end, an impassioned debate began about a transition to other forms of economic activity. For the most part the language then was about alternative crops, import substitution, manufacturing, exports and financial services, with little said about tourism as its sustainability was widely regarded as uncertain.
Since then the world has moved on. Tourism has come to dominate most Caribbean economies; offshore financial services, after being encouraged, have come under threat from the same developed countries that had originally recommended them; and agriculture has only begun to genuinely reorient itself where it is low cost, has clear niche opportunities, or there is a recognised need to ensure food security.
Although this diminished role for traditional agriculture is still hard for some in the region to accept, it is clear that the greater part of the economic future for smaller economies is now in services (alongside taking much greater advantage of the Caribbean’s economically strategic location to