02 January, 2020: The Ministry of Trade and Industry is pleased to report that the value of Trinidad and Tobago’s totalnon-energy exports grew by 22% rising from TT $4.97 Billion during January to June 2018 compared to TT $6.07 Billion over the period January to June 2019. Non-energy exports performed well in a series of products and sectors to both traditional and non-traditional markets including those in Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union (EU). Table 1 below summarizes those products and markets that, in part, accounted for the improvement in non-energy exports from 2018 to 2019:
Table 1: Top 10 Non-energy Export Products and Markets (2018-2019)
% Increase in Total Non-Energy Products Exported | % Increase in Total Non-Energy Export Market Share |
Non-alcoholic Beverages (63%) | Jamaica (110%), USA (57%) and Barbados (30%) |
Rum and other Spirits (48%) | Grenada (82%), Sint Marteen (43%) and The Netherlands (22%) |
Plastic Bottles (43%) | St Vincent and the Grenadines (42%), St Lucia (41%) and Barbados (21%) |
Chocolate & other Cocoa Preparations (40%) | Jamaica (37%), Barbados (19%) and Guyana (23%) |
Facial Tissue (27%) | Guatemala (137%), Cuba (132%) and Suriname (110%) |
Cereals (20%) | Colombia (50%), Grenada (43%) and Dominican Republic (33%) |
Tomato Ketchup (12%) | Suriname (83%), Grenada (29%) and St Lucia (24%) |
Toilet Paper (10%) | Puerto Rico (50%), Dominica (32%) and St Kitts & Nevis (16%) |
Biscuits (10%) | Antigua and Barbuda (36%), Grenada (18%) and Jamaica (17%) |
Aromatic Bitters (6%) | United Kingdom (44%), Brazil (41%) and USA (21%) |
Source: Central Statistical Office (Provisional Data)
The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the growth and expansion of the non-energy sector in Trinidad and Tobago. This improvement in the country’s non-energy export performance from 2018 to 2019 is directly attributable to various measures undertaken by the Ministry and its agencies such as exporTT and other stakeholders to boost the performance of the non-energy sector over the past four (4) years.
In particular, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and by extension the Government, continues to play a leading role in stimulating the non-energy sector by creating lucrative and valuable avenues through which the private sector can benefit immensely including the development of new and innovative products, processes and export markets. The Ministry has also been working dedicatedly to enhance market access for local manufacturers to new and differentiated export markets by actively pursuing bilateral trade agreements with countries of strategic interest such as Chile and Curacao among others. Additionally, the Ministry has also been resolute in its pursuit of trade missions to targeted countries such as Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Panama among others.
Further to this, the Ministry has been focused in executing its mandate to create new economic spaces and infrastructure to facilitate private sector development especially in the non-energy sector. These include but are not limited to the development of the Moruga Agro-Processing and Light Industrial Park, the Phoenix Park Industrial Estate in Couva and the completion of 21 lots at the Tamana InTech Park in Wallerfield. To guide this overall thrust to improve and expand the non-energy sector in Trinidad and Tobago, the Government also launched a National Trade Policy (2019-2023) and a Special Economic Zones Policy for Trinidad and Tobago in 2019. These Policies continue to serve as roadmaps to guide the progress of the non-energy sector in 2020 and beyond.