Written by Chester Robards, The Nassau Guardian, October 22nd, 2021
Exports from The Bahamas to China totaled more than $500,000 between 2018 and 2020, while The Bahamas spent $112 million on imports from China during that same period, Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) Chairperson Khrystle Rutherford-Ferguson said Wednesday, as she vowed to use the BCCEC’s private sector influence to lessen that trade disparity.
Rutherford-Ferguson made these comments on Wednesday during the Bahamas-China Trade and Investment Virtual Forum, which explored trade and investment opportunities between the two nations, as well as preferential policies and key industry promotion.
She said during her remarks that the forum is designed to expand the markets businesses on both ends have access to.
“It is our aim that this forum and the business-to-business meetings that will take place following, will lay the foundation for regular interaction between businesses in The Bahamas and businesses in China,” Rutherford-Ferguson said.
“This should not be difficult, considering the 24-year diplomatic relationship that exists between our two countries. There are countless ways that businesses in our respective countries can continue to dialogue and create mutually beneficial opportunities.”
Rutherford-Ferguson quoted numbers from the International Trade Centre’s data on Bilateral Trade Between The Bahamas and China, which notes that total imports from China was $54 million in 2018, $24 million in 2019 and in $34 million in 2020; while The Bahamas’ exports to China were $426,000 in 2018, $214,000 in 2019 and $56,000 in 2020.
She said those numbers reveal that there is lots of room to increase exports to China from The Bahamas.
“We trust that this forum will provide the business links to make this a reality. As the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and the voice of the private sector, we will continue to promote Bahamian businesses in this regard,” Rutherford-Ferguson said.
The Chinese Embassy and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade partnered with the BCCEC to make the forum possible.
Read the entire article here: https://thenassauguardian.com/chamber-focuses-on-china-bahamas-trade-disparity/?fbclid=IwAR1GFnNKQDVR1VLvDbrOHDb44tLRarvibwHSSZSO0tG4oTHcdr1R9H_7c0w
