NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas must work to address concerns by its foreign trade partners over the price competitiveness of goods as well as the lack of brand recognition and promotion of Bahamian-made products in the international marketplace, a Senator stated yesterday.
Barry Griffin, the Senate vice-president and deputy chairman of The Bahamas Trade Commission, noted that the Commission continues to dialogue with international trade partners, having just returned from a UK trade mission.
His comments were made while speaking during a webinar hosted by The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation, The Bahamas Trade Commission, and The Ministry of Economic Affairs to discuss the National Trade Policy.
“A few things come up in all of these discussions. For the most part, we get the word that services promotion is ok, and in particular financial services and tourism are engines running on their own,” said Griffin.
“Through our conversations, we have found weaknesses we can work on and a lot of those center around pricing competitiveness of goods and also a lot on brand recognition.
“What we get is there isn’t enough promotion of Bahamian products in the international market,” Griffin concluded.
He described the presence of Bahamian companies and the government at international trade fairs and industry-specific conferences as lacking.
Senator Griffin said that the Commission is seeking to ascertain from the Chamber of Commerce and its membership how it can help and rectify these weaknesses. Griffin said that the national trade policy is in its final stages, with the Commission in the process of reviewing all current agreements with this nation’s trade partners as well as assessing new and emerging markets.
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