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Pèpè
Economy
by David Diggs
There was a time when Haiti was the largest exporter of
sugar in the world. Today Haiti imports all of its refined
sugar. Haiti used to be a big producer of cotton, too, but
the last Haitian cotton mill closed years ago. The list
is long of goods Haiti used to produce for itself but must
now import. This lost production means lost jobs, greater
poverty, and increasing dependency on outside help. The
decline in Haiti's productivity is a consequence of decisions
made both within and outside Haiti.
Haiti used to export much of its sugar to the US, but then
American sugar beet farmers successfully lobbied Congress
to set strict import quotas that protected them from competition
from sugar primarily from Caribbean countries like Haiti.
The US government also began subsidizing American sugar
producers in a variety of ways, which has led to over-production
and sugar stockpiling. At the same time, the US has exerted
tremendous pressure on Haiti to open its market to American
sugar and other agricultural products that are subsidized
by our government. This we've done in the name of free trade.
But Haitian producers have no way to compete with cheaper
subsidized American goods that flood into their country.
The cheaper imported food is of temporary benefit to consumers.
As jobs disappear and local production declines, fewer people
have enough money to buy even the imported food.
This
process has devastated the Haitian economy where 8 in 10
people now earn less than $1 a day and the Haitian population
is ranked as the third hungriest in the world by the UN.
Haiti used to be able to grow virtually all the rice and
other grains it needed for domestic consumption. In the
past two decades, though, both donated and subsidized US
rice, corn, and wheat have inundated the Haitian market.
In the increasingly globalized economy, it isn't just decisions
made by government policy makers that affect the Haitian
economy. For example, when we buy chicken at the grocery
store and decide to pay a little more for the pre-cut white
mean, our decision has an indirect impact on poor farmers
in Haiti. How? Large chicken producers like Perdue and Tyson's
end up with a glut of the dark meat that has less appeal
to affluent American consumers. To protect their profits,
these companies freeze the dark meat and sell it on the
cheap to poor countries like Haiti. Small local producers
in Haiti are being driven out of business, making the remaining
local free range chicken just too pricey for most people
in the cities, even though they greatly prefer it over the
imported frozen chicken.
Haitian consumers in an increasingly globalized economy
are also subjected to a barrage of sophisticated Western
marketing for imported products. A beautiful locally-produced
straw hat is great protection from the sun and only cost
a tenth of the price of the imported Chicago Bulls ball
cap, but Haitians who are eager to not look poor are often
willing to pay for foreign fashions and fads. Even in Haiti
teenage boys want to be like Mike. This is good news for
Nike, but bad news for the traditional Haitian hat maker
and cobbler and the whole Haitian economy.
A number of Beyond Borders' associates in Haiti are part
of an effort to counter this trend. For example, Chris Low
is helping a group of women artisans on Lagonav island find
markets for the beautiful hand-painted silk scarves they
produce. Carla Bluntschli has been helping her Haitian co-workers
at DOA/BN mount a campaign to break Haiti's growing enchantment
with foreign products and promote greater self-reliance.
Jeff and Beth Rogers have been promoting the local production
and sale of pottery and jewelry. But in our global economy
efforts like these among poor people in Haiti must be matched
by efforts among the affluent in powerful countries like
the US to get our governments to look out more for the interests
of the poor and the long-term interests of us all.
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