East Caribbean states are looking to implement a cement trade monitoring mechanism in the region due to frequent supply shortages which are reportedly hampering construction activity in the sub-region.

According to reports by The Guardian, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
Secretariat’s Trade Policy Unit (TPU) is encouraging talks among Member States to develop a position on the supply and demand for cement within the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
 
Head of the OECS Trade Policy Unit, Virginia Paul, says the Council for Trade and Economic Development (Coted) agreed that such a mechanism is required to ensure consumers are adequately supplied by the regional manufacturer. “Cement is an important commodity used in construction and given the importance of the construction sector to economic development in the OECS, it was necessary for Member States to agree on the data that would be required to monitor trade in cement within the region,” she told the newspaper.
 
The Policy Unit has confirmed that recommendations from OECS have already been presented to a meeting of Caricom officials for consideration. Discussions on methods of monitoring the cement trade were among three major activities which recently involved the OECS Secretariat’s Trade Policy Unit.