EU aid 'has not helped Caribbean exports'

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said yesterday that decades of preferential access have not boosted Caribbean exports to Europe, and urged countries to end their economic dependence on single agricultural crops.

Mandelson said preferential EU trade policies had not improved competitiveness of Caribbean agriculture and may have actually discouraged economic diversification.

“Preferential access has not helped Caribbean countries develop to compete in a global economy. In fact, it may well have done the opposite,” he said at the start of EU-Caribbean talks on trade and development.

Mandelson’s comments came on the eve of a major protest planned in St. Lucia by Caribbean sugar and banana growers against recent trade rules they say will hurt exports of the vital crops.

Farmers are angry over a recent World Trade Organisation ruling against a new EU tariff on imported bananas that they say will flood the vital European market with cheaper bananas from Latin America.

They are also upset about an EU plan to sharply cut subsidies for Caribbean sugar growers, a move prompted by another WTO ruling.

Mandelson said it is time for Caribbean countries to move away from a reliance on single crops and focus instead on diversifying into other areas and attracting investment.

“The Caribbean needs to generate more trade and more inward investment,” Mandelson said. “It needs to diversify away from a vulnerable dependence on single agricultural commodities.”

Since 1994, the EU has provided the Caribbean with some €400m to help banana-producing countries adapt to fast-changing global marketplace, Mandelson said. The bloc has provided another €50m to foster regional integration.

Mandelson promised “there will be more (aid) to come,” without providing details.

“Where there are difficult transitions to be made, the EU will stand by the Caribbean for the long haul,” he said.

Several thousand farmers from throughout the region were expected for today’s march, dubbed “Operation Get Up, Stand Up” after the famous protest anthem by reggae legend Bob Marley, said organiser Flavia Cherry.