Additionally, the authorities have been seeking on an on-going basis to expand this network to include major emerging and developing economies such as China, India and Brazil, using Barbados as a conduit jurisdiction for OECD entities wishing to invest in these markets.
Although manufacturing and agriculture are no longer as significant as they once were in terms of their overall contribution to GDP, Barbados’ exports of manufactured and agricultural products continue to earn valuable foreign exchange. This too is being buffeted by the effects of the global crisis. With the global slowdown affecting the main export markets, exports of goods and services have been constrained.