Grenada – Country Profile
General Information
| Official Name | Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique |
| Capital | St. George’s |
| Land Area | 344 sq km |
| Population | 110,152 |
| National Holiday | February 7th (Independence Day) |
| Currency | 1 $CAD = 2.16 East Caribbean Dollar (ECD) |
| Language(s) | English (official), French patois |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Bank of Canada (Currency Conversion 02/07/2015)
Political Information
| Form of State | Parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
| Head of state | Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor-general, currently Cécile La Grenade |
| Head of Government | Keith Mitchell |
| Elections | February 2013; next February 2018 |
Source: Economic Intelligence Unit
Economic Information
| Grenada | Canada | |
| GDP (PPP) | $1,614.54 Billion | $2,042.75 Trillion |
| GDP per capita | $15,265.66 | $57,569.65 |
| GDP annual growth rate | 1.1% | 2.3% |
| GDP – composition by sector | Agricultural: 5.8% Industry: 11% Services: 83.2% |
Agricultural: 1.7%
Industry: 28.2% Services: 70.1% |
| Inflation rate – average consumer prices | 2.2% | 2% |
| Main Industries | Food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | Transportation equipment, chemicals, processed and unprocessed minerals, food products, wood and paper, fish products, petroleum and natural gas. |
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook, World Bank Data, CIA World Factbook, Bank of Canada (Currency Conversion 16/07/2015).
Political and Economic Stability
Grenada is an independent state member of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The OECS is a union of nine countries from the eastern Caribbean. OECS countries agreed to promote cooperation and assistance in the development of each nation after gaining independence from Great Britain (except Anguilla). The OECS shares a common supreme court and is governed by seven departments that cover all the nations: the Authority, the Council of Ministers, the Assembly, the Economic Affairs Council, the Commission, The Secretariat and the Institutions department.
Grenada is considered an upper medium income country with high human development. It mainly depends on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange. Grenada is also known as the “Spice Isle”, home to numerous nutmeg and cocoa plantations.
Hurricanes Ivan (2004) and Emily (2005) severely damaged the agricultural sector, particularly the cultivation mentioned above, which had been a key driver of economic growth. Since then, Grenada has rebounded from the effects of the hurricanes but is now caught with the debt burden from the rebuilding process. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of tourism and higher education contributed to growth in national output; however, economic growth remained stagnant in 2010-14 as a result of the global economic downturn and its effect on tourism and remittances.
Security
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) recommends that Canadians exercise normal or high security precautions when traveling in the OECS countries, because of limited medical resources, unreliable public transportation and moderate crime rates in some of them. For detailed and up-to-date information on travel security, please refer to the GAC Travel Report for Grenada.
Trade Information
| Trade Partners & Direction | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Total exports to the world ($CAD Thousands) | 28,269 | 35,269 | 35,129 | 40,501 | 28,247 |
| Total exports to Canada ($CAD Thousands) | 600 | 1,718 | 2,268 | 1,900 | 2,018 |
| Total imports from Canada ($CAD Thousands) | 5,474 | 4,750 | 5,706 | 4,735 | 6,079 |
Source: Trade Data Online (Industry Canada), Trade Map (International Trade Centre), World Integrated Trade
Excluding mineral products (HS2 Codes 26-27 and 71-80)
Source: International Trade Centre Trade Map
Excluding mineral products (HS2 Codes 26-27 and 71-80)
Source: Industry Canada Trade Data Online
Business Climate
The World Bank’s annual Doing Business report ranks economies from 1 to 189 (with 1 being the best) on their ease of doing business. In the 2015 report, Grenada ranked 126 overall and 51 for Trading Across Borders, which measures the ease with which a standardized shipment of goods can be imported or exported across its borders. The average time to export goods in Grenada is 9 days, with an average estimated cost of $CAD 1,452.75 per 20-foot container.
Canadian companies are advised to exercise strict due diligence before working with a company from the Grenada to ensure that it is a bona fide and reputable entity. It is suggested that Canadian importers commission a report by a credit information provider to verify the financial strength of the partner.
Sustainability Initiatives
Grenada, as a member of the OECS, adheres to the St. George’s Declaration, an act that establishes principles for environmental sustainability. This declaration outlines 21 principles concerning poverty reduction, strengthening regulation and the rule of law, social integration in industries, private sector involvement, education improvement, climate change preparation and mitigation, pollution management, protection of endangered species, developing science and technology, among others. Each member nation of the St. George’s Declaration has the responsibility to implement programs in accordance with this declaration in order to guarantee a sustainable region for the future.
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank encourages governments, industries and foundations located in the Eastern Caribbean Islands to develop programmes and initiatives for improving education, community outreach, sports funding, cultural development and education through awarding governments, public and private sector companies. Each year, The Best Corporate Citizen awards recognize and provide financial benefits to companies and entities that developed CSR initiatives in one or more of the OECS countries.
The Marketing and National Importing Board adheres to the guidelines of a Food Safety Plan (FSP) and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) to ensure all local Grenadian fresh produce and agro products are safe and of premium quality. The board is a critical component for the sustainable growth and health of the Grenadian Agricultural Sector and is responsible for supporting the emergence and development of profitable farm enterprises.
There is a National Forest Policy in place that attempts to protect a representative sample of all forest ecosystems. The policy uses a market-based approach to encourage the conservation of privately owned forests and the promotion of the sustainable use of genetic resources to achieve social, spiritual and economic benefits, among other goals.
Trade Opportunities
Of the total products exported to the world, Grenada experienced a 12 percent growth in export earnings between 2010 and 2014. Many products fluctuate throughout the years yet they offer great rewards. Such a product is nutmeg, due to the different agricultural seasons and issues that can arise in the cultivation process. On the other hand, tuna is the most stable product observed with an average growth rate of three percent per year. In this spectrum of trade opportunities, cocoa is an outlier because of its strong recognition and economic relevance in Grenada, and Canadian buyers have yet to take advantage of the cocoa industry in Grenada. These products, each unique in their way, stand out as the top three opportunities to engage with Grenada.
1. Nutmeg
The main export product of Grenada is nutmeg. There are different products manufactured with nutmeg such as aromatic barbecue charcoals, ice creams, sorbets, cakes, sweets and soaps, also produced and exported from this country. This product represented 6.13M CAD in exportations to the world in 2014 and 77% of Canada’s imports from Grenada. A strong opportunity can be seen for this product due to the high global demand that exist for Grenada’s nutmeg.
2. Cocoa
Cocoa is a very important industry for the island of Grenada with a 20% contribution to the agricultural GDP. This subsector also represents 6.5% of total export earnings in 2014. The cocoa that grows in Grenada stands out because of the rich soil and favorable environmental conditions found on the island. Since 2012, the exportation of this product has decreased dramatically due to several causes, the most probable being a natural disaster. The rebuilding and expansion of this subsector is currently underway with incentives set forth by the government and increased demand in part due to specialty chocolate companies opening up shop in Grenada.
3. Fish and Seafood
The seafood industry represents another important trade opportunity. Fish products, more specifically Tunas, generated 6.8M CAD in 2014 and are the second most exported product to Canada. This sector proves to have potential because of an increased accessto external markets creating a more stable economic environment and recent improvement in industry technology.
Upcoming Trade Shows
Nutmeg spice Festival
2016 TBA
Grenada Hotel & Tourism Association
Ocean House Building,
Morne Rouge RD
St. George, Grenada
Industry: Foods
http://puregrenadanutmeg.com/
Useful Links
| OECS/Caribbean | |
| Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Site (OECS) | http://www.oecs.org/ |
| Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) | http://eccb-centralbank.org/About/index.asp |
| Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM) | http://www.caricom.org/ |
| Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM) – Regional Statistics | http://www.caricomstats.org/index.htm |
| Caribbean Network of Service Coalitions | http://c-nsc.org/ |
| GRENADA | |
| Grenada Tourism | http://www.grenadagrenadines.com/ |
| Government of Grenada | http://www.gov.gd/ |
| Chamber of Industry and Commerce of Grenada | http://www.thegcic.org/ |
| Ministry of Agriculture, Land, Forestry, Fisheries & Environment | http://www.gov.gd/ministries/agriculture.html |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | http://www.gov.gd/ministries/foreign_affairs.html |
| Grenada Nutmeg | http://www.grenadanutmeg.com/ |