Despite the efforts of the Trinidad and Tobago government to diversify the economy, figures in the latest WTO Trade Policy Review (TPR), published in March 2012, show that the country’s economy remains dominated by oil and gas (which account for three-quarters of exports and half of government revenue) while agriculture continues to decline. In 2010, agriculture accounted for only about 0.6% of GDP and less than 4% of employment which, the TPR concludes, indicates ‘the relatively low productivity found in this sector’.

Although agriculture accounts for 13.7% of non-oil exports, ‘it is concentrated in a few products, most of which are processed products rather than agricultural commodities’. These include (in declining order of value) sweetened or flavoured water (HS2202), cigarettes (HS2402) and baked bread (HS1905). ‘In many cases, such as tobacco, the raw material is imported and processed and the transformed product (cigarettes) exported.’ The main import is undenatured ethyl alcohol which, the TPR reports, is mainly ‘imported from Brazil, processed and exported to the United States at preferential tariffs under the Caribbean Basin Initiative.’

The commodities that are produced domestically have changed substantially in recent decades. The former export crops of coffee, cocoa and sugar are now non-existent or much reduced: ‘production of traditional crops like cocoa beans and coffee all declined to current levels several years ago, with sugar production following suit in the early 2000s.’ The value of sugar exports fell to US$2.2 million in 2009 (from US$37 million in 2006). Exports of sugar are mainly now to other Caribbean countries rather than the traditional European or US markets, as are flavoured beverages and cigarettes. Rum and beer, by contrast, are still exported throughout the world.

The TPR recognises that to some extent the decline in traditional exports can be attributed to preference erosion, but more fundamental contributing factors identified include ‘the small size of farms, uncertain tenure for many farmers, the small domestic market, and the decline in production of higher value crops like cocoa and coffee’.

Partly offsetting this decline in traditional export crops, there has been an increase in production of chicken (which now represents over half the total value of agricultural production) and pig meat, as well as a growth in production of pineapples and other fresh fruit. These products are mainly destined for domestic consumption, with production taking place behind relative high levels of tariff protection (average tariff on agricultural products is 20% compared with 6% for non-agricultural products, with some 93 exemptions to the CARICOM CET mainly for agricultural products). In addition to normal tariffs, for sugar and some other imports (including poultry until December 2006) surcharges are applied.

Despite the substantial support given to the agricultural sector (reaching a high equivalent to over half the value of agriculture’s contribution to GDP in 2007), the country imports most of its food and other agricultural products. Despite support policies which range from guaranteed prices for some products, through input and investment subsidies to low interest loans, the agricultural sector continues to decline. In the rice sector for example, despite an increase in the minimum prices paid to farmers by National Flour Mills and the leasing of land to producers, the number of rice farmers has fallen from 6,000 in 1992 to 1,500 in 2008, with the area under rice declining from 5,000 ha to 1,500 ha.