The economy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is heavily dependent on

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, being the world's leading producer of

arrowroot Arrowroot is a starch obtained from the rhizomes (rootstock) of several tropical plants, traditionally ''Maranta arundinacea'', but also Florida arrowroot from ''Zamia integrifolia'', and tapioca from cassava (''Manihot esculenta''), which is oft ...

and grows other exotic fruit, vegetables and root crops. Bananas alone account for upwards of 60% of the work force and 50% of merchandise exports in

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea w ...

. Such reliance on a single crop makes the economy vulnerable to external factors. St. Vincent's banana growers benefited from preferential access to the European market. In view of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

's announced phase-out of this preferred access, economic diversification is a priority.

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

has grown to become a very important part of the economy. In 1993, tourism supplanted banana exports as the chief source of foreign exchange. The Grenadines have become a favourite of the up-market yachting crowd. The trend toward increasing tourism revenues will likely continue. In 1996, new cruise ship and ferry berths came on-line, sharply increasing the number of passenger arrivals. In 1998, total visitor arrivals stood at 202,109 with United States visitors constituting 2.7%, as most of the nation's tourists are from other countries in the Caribbean and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Figures from 2005 record tourism's contribution to the economy at US$90 million. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a beneficiary of the U.S.

Caribbean Basin Initiative The Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), a trade initiative initiated by the 1983 Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA), is a United States program. The CBI came into effect on January 1, 1984, and aimed to provide several tariff and trade ben ...

. The country belongs to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has signed a framework agreement with the United States to promote trade and investment in the region. St Vincent 2012 Export MIT Tree

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines electricity production

Macroeconomic statistics

Household income or consumption by percentage share: Distribution of family income - Gini index: N/A Agriculture - products: banana, coconuts, sweet-potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish Industrial production growth rate: -0.9% (1997 estimate) Electricity - production: 115 million kWh (2005) Electricity - consumption: 107 million kWh (2005) Oil - consumption: (2005 estimate) Current account balance: $-0.22 billion (2013 estimate)
$-0.19 billion (2012 estimate) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $115 million (2013 estimate)
$111 million (2012 estimate) 2010 Index of Economic Freedom rank = 49th Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2003)

References

{{Americas topic, Economy of

Macroeconomic statistics

See also

References