Dominica

"The Commonwealth of Dominica, my country, and other countries of the CARICOM (Caribbean Community and Common Market) group are threatened by the WTO's decision. Our main means of livelihood, bananas, has been placed on the shakiest of grounds by this decision. Such uncertainty brings about instability and can threaten peace.

Clichés like 'desperate times call for desperate measures and 'a hungry man is an angry man' may sound banal, but they cannot be ignored. Peace in our region and peace in the world depend much on the humanitarian dispensation of justice, and the action which has been taken against us in the WTO is not justice."

Dominica, an island in the far north of the Windward Islands, has been an independent State since 1978.

Dominica is a volcanic, mountainous country, with negligible natural resources. It has a predominantly agricultural economy vitally dependent on bananas, but is developing its infrastructure to support future industrial growth and eco-tourism. In the second half of the 1980s real growth averaged 5.5 per cent with a definite slowdown in 1991 and 1992 (2-2.6 per cent). World-wide recession, combined with the uncertainty over the future of the banana sector, is likely to affect Dominica's open and vulnerable economy.

During 1988 to 1994, real GDP (which grew by only 2 per cent per year on average) was affected by the devastation of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the fall in banana production in 1991-1993 caused by lower market prices, and weak regional demands for manufacturing products.

The growth in real GDP slowed even further in 1995, primarily due to the effects of a tropical storm and two hurricanes - Luis and Marilyn - which devastated most fruit crops and destroyed infrastructure.

Earnings from bananas fell almost 20 per cent, declining for the third consecutive year. By the end of 1995, the external debt measured about 47.6 per cent of GDP.

The banana industry is critical for the economy of Dominica. During 1988 to 1992, the industry accounted for more than 90 per cent of primary exports, about 69 per cent of all exports, and 17 per cent of GDP, employing 60 per cent of agricultural workers. According to the World Bank, adverse change in the external environment would have a major impact on the economy in which more than 30 per cent of the population already lives below the poverty line.