Now that more direct trade opportunities are available with foreign markets, the business community was warned not to cut out the middleman too hastily.
In an interview with the Nassau Guardian on Tuesday, Tanya Wright, President at the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, explained what some of the positives and drawbacks of new trade opportunities were.
“Bahamian businesses that are interested in trading in foreign markets where they have no experience or no relationships should not rush to cut out the middleman,” said Mrs Wright. She was referring mainly to Florida, the country’s largest trading partner, which provided $1.4 billion in exports to The Bahamas last year, according to figures earlier this year from the US Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division Data Dimension Brach.
According to that same report, The Bahamas earned $624 million from its exports to the US.
Although Ms Wright anticipated some falloff in trade with the US at some point in the future, she pointed out the dangers of cutting out the middleman too quickly.
“The negative side of doing that is that you are exposing your business enterprise to an environment that you know relatively little about,” Mrs Wright said. However, countries such as Panama and the US are well-functioning “middle-man type” economies she added, which made it important not to cut off those stable trade relationships.
One of the most important advantages of good trade relations with the US is the “economies of scale” this relationship has allowed The Bahamas to have.
A recent trip to Panama also confirmed for Mrs Wright how a similar relationship could be established there. She was part of a delegation of Ministry of Tourism and Chamber of Commerce representatives that travelled to Panama this month to explore trade and tourism opportunities with that country.
“In terms of a relationship with The Bahamas, they can act as an agent, or gateway so to speak, for doing trade with the rest of the world,” Mrs Wright said.
During a recent China trade conference, Prime Minister Perry Christie encouraged business people not to focus solely on the local consumer market, but to pursue opportunities to export goods elsewhere because the Bahamian market is relatively small.
Although The Bahamas would have more access to more diverse markets, including China, in the short-term future, Mrs Wright said Bahamian businesses could capitalise on economic opportunities with Panama through more joint ventures.
By BARRY WILLIAMS, Nassau Guardian Staff Reporter
