Chairman’s Letter
Dear Members, Stakeholders and Friends, As we turn the page on 2025 and look ahead to the year before us, it feels appropriate to pause and reflect honestly on where we find ourselves as an industry and as an Association. The past year tested our resilience, our unity, and our capacity to engage effectively in a fast-changing global environment. Yet it also reinforced something we sometimes take for granted: Caribbean rum remains a category built on authenticity, community, and long-term commitment, not short-term convenience.
The Global Economic and Trade Environment The economic backdrop to 2025 was among the most uncertain we have faced in recent memory. Global demand softened unevenly across markets, inflationary pressures remained stubborn in key input costs, and geopolitical tensions continued to distort trade flows. For Caribbean rum producers, these challenges were compounded by the continued application of US tariffs, which have now become an unfortunate baseline for doing business in that market. Even where demand held up, margins came
under sustained pressure as producers absorbed higher costs or faced difficult pricing decisions in competitive retail environments. These realities were not abstract; they were felt directly by producers large and small, and they shaped commercial decisions throughout the year.
Protecting Preference, Provenance and Fair Competition At the same time, the global trade landscape continued to evolve in ways that are deeply consequential for our sector. New free trade agreements concluded or advanced between the European Union and Mercosur, and between the EU and India, reflect a broader proliferation of trade deals by major rum destinations including the EU, the UK, and Canada. While trade liberalisation can bring benefits, these agreements also trade away hard-won preferences that Caribbean rum has relied upon for decades. Those preferences were not accidental; they were the result of sustained engagement by WIRSPA and Caribbean governments, following many years in which our producers faced tariffs, quotas, and structural barriers simply to access UK and European markets. The erosion of those preferences, without adequate recognition of our unique provenance and development context, presents a real challenge to the growth model that has underpinned Caribbean rum’s global success.
Trade Policy Advocacy and Regional Engagement This is not a nostalgic argument for protectionism, but a pragmatic reminder that fairness matters. Caribbean rum competes on quality, heritage, and authenticity, but it does so from small economies that
WIRSPA Secretariat, Mars House, #13 Pine Road, Belleville, St. Michael, BB11113, Barbados, W.I. Chair: Clement ‘Jimmy‘ Lawrence T +1 (876) 968-4455 E chairman@wirspa.com