Sugar, the sweet and sticky stuff, once king of Barbados, has been well and truly usurped. Low world prices, combined with cuts in the European Union’s preferential prices, will make it difficult to compete in world sugar markets in any meaningful way.
And while, ironically perhaps, the island produced a bumper crop in 2005, tourism and financial services, areas where Barbados can exploit its scenic beauty, year-round sun and well-educated workforce, have seized the island’s crown and sceptre to become the major earners of foreign exchange.
