KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - IT is hardly necessary to say it, but for emphasis, the economic recovery of the Caribbean Community must be a priority among the myriad problems and issues on the agenda of the Caricom Heads of Government meeting taking place in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
The national economies of Caricom as a whole have exhibited low rates of economic growth in recent years, both in real terms and compared with other regions, but particularly Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The economic stagnation is a result of a combination of long-term factors and short-term cyclical events. The small, undiversified economies of the region suffered an adverse impact from the dismantling of the preferential trade arrangements for sugar and bananas entering the European Union.