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TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2025
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The Bahamas ‘dodges big bullet’ on China ship fees By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas has “dodged a big bullet” and potential 25 percent inflation hike, Super Value’s owner has asserted, after shipping to this nation was exempted from the $1m per US port call fee on Chinesemade ships. Rupert Roberts and multiple other Bahamian business executives
yesterday told Tribune Business that this country and the wider Caribbean have been “saved from economic catastrophe” after the US Trade Representative’s Office responded to overwhelming push back by eliminating the planned fee for vessels involved in “short sea shipping” to this region. The move, which removes the threat of “almost double current freight rates” to The Bahamas compared
Restaurant owner: Stop ‘treating us like criminals’ By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN restaurant proprietor has voiced frustration over what he alleges was heavy-handed and “aggressive” behaviour by Immigration officers when they conducted checks on his business. Peter Maury, owner of the Green Parrot restaurant, complained on social media that officers were “very rude” to his staff while conducting a routine check at the establishment. Speaking subsequently to Tribune Business, Mr Maury maintained he has no difficulty allowing Immigration officers and other law enforcement authorities to conduct searches and checks of his business, but argued that this should be done as sensitively as possible especially when customers are present. “It seems like the new MO (modus operandi) of this government is to harass Bahamian businesses. They come in the middle of the night. I mean, this happened after COVID,
to existing shipping prices, was hailed by local private sector representatives as “just absolutely perfect” and “couldn’t have come at a better time” for businesses, consumers and the wider economy given that it coincided with the Easter holiday. Robert Sands, Baha Mar’s senior vice-president, told this newspaper that the US climb down will have a “very significant” positive impact for The Bahamas’
largest industry since hotels, in particular, would have been especially hard-hit if the fee was implemented as originally proposed given that resorts import as much as 85 percent of their inputs - especially food and beverage - from North America. And Chris Lleida, chief executive of Premier Importers, the building materials supplier, said The Bahamas had escaped
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RUPERT ROBERTS
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Super Value chief: ‘We’ve held back inflation for rest of 2025’ t A&YUSB QSFDBVUJPOT XJUI CVML CVZT JO BEWBODF SUPER Value’s owner is voicing optimism that t A-PDLFE JO PG JUFNT the supermarket chain has ESJWJOH PG TBMFT “held back inflation for the rest of the year” through to January 2026 by for- t A1SJDF DPNQFUJUJPO JT CFTU ward buying the products GPSN PG QSJDF DPOUSPM that generate the “bulk” of By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
PETER MAURY this happened with the Maritime Task Force, they always trying to start trouble for people,” said Mr Maury. “It’s not normal that they should just come in and treat us like criminals. We’re in complete compliance. I paid my Business Licence. I’ve paid my NIB; everything is up to date. I don’t know who sends them. It doesn’t really matter, but, it’s just typical. “If they’re coming in to check the business, fine, we’ll welcome him in. But some people take their authority above and beyond. The officer was very rude and there is no
sales. Rupert Roberts told Tribune Business that the 13-store group has targeted the 20 percent of products that make-up 80 percent of its sales for bulk purchases in advance so that it can lock in key commodity prices amid ongoing global economic uncertainty sparked by
Donald Trump’s trade and tariff policies. “I don’t see any inflation coming down the pike and we’ve taken extra precautions,” he revealed. “We’ve gone ahead and locked commodities through the end of this year through January next year to hold back inflation.
We’re guaranteeing existing prices now through January; anything that we bring into the warehouse. “Twenty percent of the items represent 80 percent of the sales, so those are the items we have gone ahead and purchased with pallet and container loads. The bulk of the volume
contributing to ‘Critical challenges’ significantly GDP, employment and foreign exchange earnings,” an IDB to tourism’s paper seen by Tribune Business states. “In 2024, the sector’s total 4.5% growth economic contribution is estiBy NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
SEE PAGE B6 BAHAMIAN tourism faces “critical challenges” to achieving its projected 4.5 percent annual growth rate over the next decade through 2034 due to multiple workforce and infrastructurerelated impediments. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), unveiling a $330,000 project where the cost will be split 50/50 between itself and the Government, disclosed that - while tourism’s contribution to Bahamian gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to grow by more than $3bn or over 50 percent during the ten years to 2034 - there are numerous impediments to the sector and country realising this potential. Climate change, cost competitiveness and changing visitor demographics and demand were just some of the hurdles identified by the IDB which, in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, will study “inbound tourism” flows across The Bahamas’ major island destinations to help determine where infrastructure and workforce development resources need to be concentrated. “Tourism is the cornerstone of The Bahamas’ economy,
ROBERT SANDS
mated at $6.1bn (43.8 percent of GDP), with projections rising to $9.2bn (60.8 percent of GDP) by 2034. “The industry is also a major employer, with 131,300 tourismrelated jobs expected by 2034, reinforcing its impact on economic stability and workforce development. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.5 percent from 2024 to 2034, the sector is set for steady expansion, driving higher visitor spending, economic contributions and industry growth. “This sustained momentum will strengthen The Bahamas’ global competitiveness, solidifying its position as a premier travel destination. However, the sector faces critical challenges, including shifting visitor demand, infrastructure and workforce constraints, climate vulnerabilities and the need for enhanced competitiveness to ensure longterm sustainability.” Acknowledging the Ministry of Tourism’s strategy to develop all 16 inhabited Bahamian islands as brands or destinations in their own right, each appealing to different market niches, the IDB paper added: “To address these challenges, the Bahamian government has designated 16 distinct island destinations, each with unique tourism assets,
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we’ve covered, and we think we’ve held back inflation for the rest of this year. We hope that’s the way it goes.” Anticipating the trade and tariff war that has now erupted between the US and China, with both levying triple-digit border tariffs on imports from the other, Mr Roberts said one of the first items that Super Value “locked in” via bulk purchases was butane gas cannisters. “We import all of our butane gas from China,” he added. “Some people don’t have the big butane stoves and use the little cans. We sell hundreds of them a day, little cans of butane gas. We’re buying containers out of China, a lot of merchandise out of China. They were the first purchase orders we locked in through January.” Mr Roberts likened purchasing bulk food
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Easter fish stocks off ‘at least 75%’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE NATIONAL Fisheries Association’s (NFA) president is estimating that the crack down on compressor use postcrawfish season has reduced the amount of fish available for Easter by “at least 75 percent”. Keith Carroll told Tribune Business that the volume of fish being sold over the holiday weekend was “way down” compared to prior years and said it was very telling that last Thursday he “drove straight through Potter’s Cay” while encountering little to no traffic at a time when the destination would normally be packed with persons making Easter purchases. He attributed the decline to the police and maritime authorities’ enforcement of the ban on using compressors to dive outside of crawfish season, which recently closed on March 31. Fishermen, Mr Carroll added, simply do not want to risk being caught, and their boats seized and themselves being hauled before the Magistrate’s Court to face fines or other punishment. As a result, fewer boats headed out before Easter to catch snappers, groupers, jacks and other fried fish that are soughtafter by Bahamians for the holiday weekend. “I know there is not much fish in town,” Mr Carroll told this newspaper. “I don’t think it’s going too good because there is not much fish in town. “What’s in town is selling, but there is not much fish here. When crawfish season closes on March, then it becomes illegal to
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