Some straw vendors were none too happy with a plan by Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller to ensure that at least 50 percent of the items sold at the new downtown straw market are authentically Bahamian.
Some straw vendors said they were forced to diversify their products to earn more income and were not inclined to endorse a plan to promote more authentically Bahamian items in the new downtown Straw and Craft Market.
Those vendors claimed that they were forced to diversify their items in order to attract more customers. They indicated that even traditional straw works are being replaced by imported straw work, which is cheaper and of a higher quality.
They also complained that native crafts are much more expensive and have a limited selection.
“There is nothing made in The Bahamas. The only thing here that is authentic and is of any use to vendors is the embroidery company, and if we cannot sell T-shirts because they are so limited here, then how are we going to make money,” said Mary Simmons, a vendor at the Bay Street straw market.
“Companies like Sun-tee charge too much money. After they charge vendors so much money, then how much are we to sell those items to tourists after they visited places like the Cayman Islands and Mexico where they get bargains for the same items?
“If the government was to make this law, more than 700 vendors would be out of jobs, what then would they do with us.”
Ann Bailey also lamented that authentic Bahamian items are too expensive. She said that the government should have already invested in building factories and training Bahamian artists in the craft.
“As simple as a key chain, this one has a coconut tree, with dolphins, and The Bahamas written on it, not even this is made in The Bahamas,” she said.
“We sell this key chain in the market for one dollar and tourists hate to purchase it at that price. If this was made in The Bahamas, the price would be much higher and the quality would not be as good,” she added. “The years and money that the government spent on building roads and other things, they should have built factories so that Bahamians could learn how to create these things at a decent price, so that we do not have to go away to buy them.”
During an Authentically Bahamian Craft Showcase on Saturday at Arawak Cay, Minister Miller said that genuine Bahamian items are slowly becoming extinct with little support from the Bahamian retail market.
He further indicated that even the Straw Market is slowly becoming an American flea market and indicated that he is considering placing restrictions to limit the amount of foreign items that are sold.
“It is our desire to see to it that in the new straw market, when it takes effect, at least 50 percent of the goods sold at that straw market is basically made in The Bahamas,” Minister Miller said.
“Right now it leaves a lot to be desired, especially for the tourists who are looking for some Bahamian items to take back with them, all that they are really getting are items that we import from else where, especially from the flea markets out of Miami.”
Anita Francis, a veteran straw vendor said that she had no choice but to sell imported items to remain competitive and to feed her family.
“I am a mother and I sit down to my stall day after day without making a dollar. But when they started selling the Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Prada bags and I bought a few of them, then I started making money. The bags are now hot sellers, it’s what the tourists want, so we have to supply them,” she said.
“The Bahamian straw, once in a while tourists would come and purchase it, so we had to get other things to boost our business.”
At present there are more than 700 straw vendors at various markets throughout the country. For many of them, a major portion of their goods are imported.
By: Perez Clarke, The Bahama Journal
