From Farm to Global Chain: Mapping Trinidad and Tobago's Agrifood Trade

As Trinidad and Tobago aims to diversify its economy, this FAO report entitled "Assessing Trinidad and Tobago’s trade and Opportunities in Agrifood Global Value Chains" takes a close look at how the country fits into the global agrifood economy and where it sits in global value chains (GVCs). 

Using detailed international trade data, the analysis tracks how much of T&T's agrifood exports are actually built on imported inputs from other countries (also known as backward linkages), and how much of T&T's own value ends up embedded in what other countries sell to the world (also called forward linkages). The results are compared against CARICOM neighbours, the broader Latin American and Caribbean region and global averages to give a clear sense of where T&T stands.

What the data shows is agrifood exports, including sweetened waters, rum, seasonings, and snack foods, make up less than five percent of total exports, with oil and gas still dominating the picture. 

On the import side, T&T relies heavily on the US for staples like wheat, corn, animal feed, and refined sugar. The report details how most of what T&T sells in agrifood goes to its Caribbean neighbours, with Jamaica, Barbados, and Guyana chief among them. Drilling down into the subsectors, agriculture leans heavily on imported inputs with food and beverages being the most outward-looking segment with stronger regional supplier links.

Learn more by downloading the report below.