Barbadian businesses are facing severe financial strain due to chronic inefficiencies at Bridgetown Port, with the nation’s leading commerce organization revealing that congestion-related costs have reached alarming proportions. The Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has issued an urgent call for accelerated implementation of a new cargo clearance system, citing an annual drain of approximately $19 million in foreign exchange through demurrage charges alone.
Lalu Vaswani, Chairman of the BCCI Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee, emphasized during a recent press conference that these substantial additional costs are inevitably passed through supply chains to consumers, exacerbating the country’s cost of living crisis. The Chamber is now advocating for decisive government action with established timelines to achieve full pre-clearance implementation.
The core solution proposed involves fundamentally redesigning Barbados’ trade facilitation framework through pre-clearance procedures that would allow customs documentation to be processed before vessel arrival. This approach could reduce clearance times from five days to 24-48 hours, significantly minimizing exposure to punitive demurrage fees that accumulate when containers are held beyond allotted timeframes.
Vaswani identified aging port infrastructure, originally designed for significantly lower trade volumes, as a primary contributor to the congestion problems. The BCCI’s reform agenda includes establishing measurable targets, with an initial goal of achieving 50% cargo pre-clearance within twelve months of implementation to demonstrate tangible benefits.
Further technological enhancements are planned, including an electronic single window system that would streamline approvals across multiple agencies through a unified portal. While acknowledging that external factors like volatile international shipping rates remain challenging, Vaswani noted that government intervention had previously helped mitigate some cost pressures by capping freight charges at historical levels.
The Chamber insists on universal commitment from all stakeholders, emphasizing that partial participation would undermine the system’s effectiveness. This comprehensive port modernization initiative represents a critical step toward reducing inflationary pressures and enhancing Barbados’ trade competitiveness.