Economy of Barbados

Agriculture has historically been a significant part of Barbados' economy, centered primarily around sugar cane cultivation, as seen in fields like those outside Saint Andrew. Approximately 16,000 hectares (40,000 acres), which accounts for 37.2% of the total land area, are classified as arable. While sugarcane once dominated all arable land, there has been a shift towards growing ground crops for local consumption in recent years. In 1999, Barbados produced 500,000 tons of sugarcane, a decline from the annual average of 584,000 tons seen in 1989-91. Sugar exports in 2001 amounted to US$22 million, contributing 8.4% to total exports. Major food crops include yams, sweet potatoes, corn, eddoes, cassava, and various types of beans. Challenges such as inadequate rainfall and limited irrigation have hindered the expansion of agricultural activities, although some commercial vegetable farming does occur. In drier areas, cotton cultivation also takes place, but its output remains constrained until mechanized harvesting methods can be introduced to increase production to previous levels.

Fewer than 20 hectares of original forests have survived the 300 years of sugar cultivation. There are an estimated 5,000 hectares of forested land, covering about 12% of the total land area. Round wood production in 2000 totalled 5,000 cu m and imports amounted to 3,000 cu m (106,000 cu ft). In 2000, Barbados imported $35.3 million in wood and forest products.

Deposits of limestone and coral were quarried to meet local construction needs. Production of limestone in 2000 amounted to 1.5 million tons. Clays and shale, sand and gravel, and carbonaceous deposits provided limited yields. Hydraulic cement production totalled 267,659 tons in 2000, up from 106,515 in 1996.<br>Oil production is also undertaken in Barbados, with much of the on-shore activity taking place in Woodbourne, Saint Philip.

The manufacturing sector in Barbados has yet to recover from the recession of the late 1980s when many bankruptcies occurred and almost one-third of the workforce lost their jobs. Today, approximately 10,000 Barbadians work in manufacturing. The electronics sector in particular was badly hit when the U.S. semi-conductor company, Intel, closed its factory in 1986. Except for traditional manufacturing—such as sugar refining and rum distilling—Barbados's industrial activity is partly aimed at the local market, which produces goods such as tinned food, drinks, and cigarettes. Many industrial estates are located throughout the island. A cement factory is located in St. Lucy.<br>Export markets have been severely damaged by competition from cheaper Caribbean and Latin American countries. But domestic manufacturing also faces serious potential problems, as trade liberalisation means that the government can no longer protect national industries by imposing high tariffs on imported goods.

Tourism is Barbados's crucial economic activity and has been since the 1960s. At least 10 per cent of the working population (some 13,000 people) are employed in this sector, which offers a range of tourist accommodations from luxury hotels to modest self-catering establishments. After the recession years, tourism picked up again in the mid-1990s, only to face another slowdown in 1999. This drop was in part due to increasing competition from other Caribbean countries such as the Dominican Republic, and in part to a reduction in visits from cruise ships as they shifted to non-Caribbean routes or shorter routes such as the Bahamas. Cruise ship visitors totalled 445,821 in 1999, a reduction from 517,888 in 1997, but stay-over visitors rose to 517,869 in 1999, setting a new record. Overall, the country witnessed over US$700 million in tourism receipts in 1999.A problem in Barbados is that tourist facilities are too densely concentrated on the south coast, which is highly urbanised, while the Atlantic coast—with a rugged shoreline and large waves—is not suitable for beach tourism. There are few large brand-name hotels, which makes marketing the island in the United States difficult. On the other hand, the absence of conglomerates and package tours results in more direct tourist spending among the general population.