Trinidad and Tobago\u2019s foreign exchange crisis will endure even after new natural gas projects begin contributing to economic activity in 2027, according to economist Dr. Dave Seerattan. Speaking at a post-budget panel hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers\u2019 Association (TTMA), Seerattan argued that higher energy revenues alone cannot resolve a structural imbalance that has plagued the economy for over a decade.<\/p>\n
The economist highlighted that Guyana and Suriname\u2014both commodity-driven economies with rapid growth\u2014still face similar forex challenges, proving that increased economic activity does not automatically translate into sufficient foreign currency availability. \u2018Structurally, if we have low energy units or high energy units, that structural problem of foreign exchange excess demand is still with us,\u2019 Seerattan explained.<\/p>\n
While increased gas production in 2027 may ease some pressure on businesses seeking foreign currency for investments and imports, Seerattan cautioned that the improvement would not eliminate the underlying issue. \u2018Even in 2027, we are going to still have people in the business sector complaining about shortages in the foreign exchange market,\u2019 he warned.<\/p>\n
Seerattan emphasised the need for a deliberate industrial policy, stronger collaboration between the government and private sector, and greater investment in non-energy industries that generate foreign exchange rather than consume it. He pointed out that reports by the Ministry of Trade and Planning over the past 20 years have repeatedly identified opportunities in tourism, yachting, and health tourism, but many proposals have yet to translate into action.<\/p>\n
The economist also welcomed the government\u2019s use of the Export-Import Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (EximBank) to help businesses access foreign currency, describing it as a crucial support mechanism. However, he stressed that such interventions would be more effective if backed by a broader strategy to transform the economy\u2019s structure.<\/p>\n
\u2018Foreign exchange is the lifeblood of the economy,\u2019 Seerattan said. \u2018The country\u2019s development prospects will remain constrained if it cannot earn enough to support productive activity.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Trinidad\u2019s gas wealth won\u2019t fix foreign currency shortages, economist says<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trinidad-and-tobago"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}