by Ms Linda Wiltshire

 

This dissertation explores the contribution of women traders, “traffickers”, to the intra-regional trade of agricultural produce between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.

 

Studies have shown that in the 1970s and 80s, women were actively engaged in this trade. The traders (‘traffickers”) were involved in all facets of the business operations - negotiating, purchasing, collecting, sorting, cleaning, crating, and packaging the produce. It also extended to documentation and customs procedures, shipping, product presentation, wholesale, and retail arrangements at the market of destination. Their activities directly and indirectly fostered intersectoral linkages within the economies, through the involvement of other business entities such as carriers, truck drivers, crate makers, and brokers.

 

National trade analyses generally capture data from activities in the formal sector and its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP). There is a paucity of data on economic activities undertaken in the informal sector, specifically the informal cross-border trade (ICBT) within which the traders operate. Their economic activity remains under-represented and undocumented in official records.

 

Through a mixed-methods research design, the dissertation draws on official trade data, policy documents, and qualitative interviews with the traders, policy makers, and other entities to ascertain the impact of the traders’ operations on the economy. The study will identify the value and volume of agricultural goods traded by these women between Trinidad and Tobago, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the constraints that mitigate against women’s active participation, including attracting new entrants to the trade, recognising its potential source of income.

 

The findings of the study may provide pertinent information to policymakers in the formulation of policy interventions and strategies, for example, ease of access to finances, given that these traders may be classified as SMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), and the upgrade of the transportation infrastructure to improve the efficiency of the mode of transportation given the correlation between its efficiency and the competitiveness of their agricultural produce. In addition, it will demonstrate the overall benefits to enhancing regional food security and the sustainability of intraregional agriculture trade.