On a Mission to Connect the Bahamas to Global Supply Chains

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NASSAU , BAHAMAS – Bahamas Trade Commission Chairman Barry Griffin says a recent trade mission to Canada ended in real results to unlock massive new export doors for The Bahamas.

Barry Griffin – Chairman, Bahamas Trade Commission

“Huge international market. Canadian exports are seen all over the world, and so there’s an amazing opportunity for Bahamian goods and services to be part of that supply chain. Oftentimes, we think about products and services going to the end market. We often think about how it can fit into an already existing supply chain. And so Canada right now is making a lot of deals with China and Asia as a whole, with Europe as a whole, also with Australia, Japan, and Latin America.”

And as those global trade networks expand, officials believe the potential impact goes well beyond physical goods.

Barry Griffin – Chairman, Bahamas Trade Commission

“So professional services, we know that The Bahamas is largely a services economy. And so, what we would like to do is, we would like to have Canadian companies base their Caribbean and Latin American expansion operations in The Bahamas. So, you would have everyone from Bahamian lawyers, bankers, accountants, human resources professionals, trade and logistics professionals, service those Canadian companies as they try to get their goods into new markets throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. So that’s a huge thing, because The Bahamas is already well positioned to do that. We already do that for many companies around the world.”

Beyond professional services, trade officials are also looking closely at how the country’s existing infrastructure can serve as a bridge to broader global markets.

Barry Griffin – Chairman, Bahamas Trade Commission

“Freeport actually has one of the largest deep-harbour ports in the Western Hemisphere, so physically, Freeport is well positioned to be a major global transshipment hub. Geographically, where it’s located close to the United States, close to Atlantic shipping routes to Africa, to the rest of the Caribbean, and to Latin America, Freeport is geographically blessed. And so we have basically all of the key components to having Freeport be a major international logistics hub. And so we’ve talked about it for a long time, and so now you’re seeing the government put some muscle behind it.”