The Commonwealth has played a long-standing role in providing assistance to its members, particularly small island states and developing countries, to design strategies that open up new opportunities and create better development outcomes.
Countries with small domestic markets must set out clear and forward-thinking export strategies if they are to achieve social and economic growth. The Commonwealth has played a long-standing role in providing assistance to its members, particularly small island states and developing countries, to design strategies that open up new opportunities and create better development outcomes.
In 2005, the Commonwealth assisted the Government of Grenada to design the country’s first national export strategy, which was launched in the same year. Its latest project is to implement an updated strategy by 2020 in order to increase exports in regional and international markets.
Earlier this month, representatives from the Grenada Ministry of Trade and key sectors including business, professional services, tourism and agriculture met in St George’s for a three-day Commonwealth-led workshop to identify areas for improvement. The group is continuing that work with a team provided by the Commonwealth in order to create the new strategy.
Speaking at the workshop, Junior Mahon, Director of Trade at the Ministry of Economic Development, said: “A second national export Strategy for Grenada is timely and entirely necessary to gear up our export sectors, to develop new products and penetrate markets of which we have yet to take advantage.”
Situated at the southern end of the Grenadines, Grenada has a population of around 110,000. It is one of the 25 small island developing states in the 53-member Commonwealth. Like many others, Grenada is grappling with trade disadvantages due to its remote location, vulnerability to external economic shocks and natural disasters and a small domestic market.
Historically, agriculture was the most important sector for the economy, dominated by nutmeg, mace and fish production. But over time this sector has fallen away, and now brings in just five per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). The tourism industry, however, has grown considerably and is now the island’s main sources of income, accounting for 80 per cent of GDP. Manufacturing is also steadily rising from what was previously a low base.
Reducing poverty is one of the island’s biggest challenges. According to the most recent survey published in 2008, there was an increase in poverty from 32 per cent in 1998 to 38 per cent in 2008. To address this issue, Grenada created a national development plan, The Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy. The plan identifies the development of existing markets and expansion into new markets as priority areas. The updated national export strategy will play a central role in its realisation.
