BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Private Sector Organization (CPSO) says exports from the African Union to CARICOM could surpass US$1 billion.
The CPSO has unveiled the result of a new study, which it says signals a significant opportunity to rewire CARICOM import supply chains.
Antigua and Barbuda Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Barbuda Affairs Minister, E.P. Chet Greene, highlighted the findings of the CPSO study at the opening of the AfriCaribbean Private Sector Webinar Series, titled “Unlocking AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment: Opportunities, Ecosystems and Private Sector Leadership”.
The webinar is the first in a four-part series designed to unlock concrete trade, investment, and business-to-business opportunities between the African Union and CARICOM. It is jointly organized by the International Trade Centre (ITC), the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the CPSO, and the Africa Business Council (AfBC).
The virtual forum brought together government ministers, development institutions, and over 200 business leaders and private-sector firms from across Africa and the Caribbean to explore pathways to expand commercial ties between the two regions.
Greene, delivering the feature address at the webinar, said that the CPSO study, titled “Africa Union-CARICOM Trade in Goods: Scope and Potential”, underscored that a shifting global trade environment has made stronger Africa Union-CARICOM economic relations an urgent necessity.
He said that rising protectionism, geopolitical uncertainty, and supply-chain disruptions are placing increasing pressure on CARICOM economies, where micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) account for the vast majority of businesses.
Greene said that strengthening Africa-CARICOM commercial ties is a strategic imperative, noting that successive Africa-CARICOM summits and the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) have established an essential political foundation.
But he noted, however, that the next phase must be driven by business.
“Political leadership establishes the framework, but it is businesses that drive innovation, generate trade volumes, mobilize investment, and create employment,” Greene said, adding, “if AfriCaribbean integration is to succeed in practical terms, it must now be carried forward by the private sector”.
Citing CPSO research, Greene highlighted data showing that the African Union has the capacity to supply a wide range of goods competitively. The analysis indicates that deeper sourcing from the African Union could strengthen supply-chain resilience and reduce the Region’s vulnerability to external policy shocks.
Greene noted persistent constraints on expanding trade, including limited transport connectivity, high logistics costs, and fragmented payment systems, and called for innovative approaches to financing, shipping, and digital payments to unlock the full potential of the partnership.
CPSO chief executive officer and technical director, Dr. Patrick Antoine, presented findings from the recent CPSO Study, which identified up to US$1.6 billion in potential competitive opportunities for African Union exports to CARICOM.
The analysis also demonstrated that at least 13 African Union countries are each capable of supplying more than US$58 million in non-mineral fuel imports at prices typically averaging 60 per cent of current benchmarks.
Importantly, across the 579 product lines identified as competitively priced, the CPSO study found that, for most products, CARICOM can typically source competitively priced imports from four African Union countries, underscoring both the depth and diversity of available supply options.
Antoine also spoke of the importance of proactive private sector engagement, warning that shifting global policies in major markets require CARICOM firms to seek new commercial pathways and diversify trade relationships.
“At moments like these, the role of the private sector becomes even more vital. We must be prepared to respond with agility and seize opportunities wherever they emerge.
“We in the CARICOM Private Sector have no option but to explore and execute on opportunities to navigate this ‘collective turbulence’. We in the CARICOM Private Sector choose not to whither; we choose not to retreat. Instead, we choose to engage and to keep on engaging.
“We choose to relentlessly confront the persistent challenges: challenges of ‘affordability’, trade concentration, and surmounting the inefficiencies of scale and size, with cooperation, integration, and a laser sharp focus on ‘doing business’.”
CPSO member and chief executive officer of Goddard Enterprises Limited, Anthony Ali, shared practical lessons from his company’s direct engagement with African Union markets with the audience.
Ali acknowledged that while there are challenges, substantial opportunities exist for local production partnerships to establish CARICOM brands in Africa and African brands in CARICOM.
Ali said that successful market entry in the African Union requires flexible models, such as local production partnerships, licensing arrangements, and stronger institutional support, to address financing and logistics gaps.
The forum was also addressed by Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre; Okechukwu Ihejirika, Chief Operating Officer of Afreximbank’s Caribbean Office; and Dr. Amany Asfour, President of the Africa Business Council.
They all underscored the need for stronger business-to-business linkages and data-driven collaboration.
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