CARICOM Chairman and Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo (right) speaks to journalists at Jamaica House on Monday. Keenly listening is Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM) Chairman Bharrat Jadgeo has expressed fear that regional nations will take longer than their developed counterparts to recover from the effects of the global economic crisis.

Speaking at a press conference at Jamaica House Monday following a prime ministerial task force meeting, Jadgeo said the recession has already crippled many economies of the region and some worrying indications are surfacing.

World leaders have suggested that countries could begin emerging from the recession next year. Jadgeo said because ofthe absence of a transmission mechanism, there may be no immediate improvement in the developing world "because it will come with a time lag".

"We will be suffering from the consequences of the global crisis a little bit longer than the developed world and also there are some structural shifts that are taking place that would lengthen the lag period," Jadgeo told journalists.

The CARICOM chairman cited activities in the bauxite industry, as well as the move by the powerful Group of Eight nations to clamp down on tax havens, as potentially toxic to the region.

According to Jagdeo, there are reports that China has been stockpiling cheap alumina, which could mean a lack of demand and lower prices for bauxite products when the crisis eases.

"It may take long for the prices to pick up in the post-crisis period because of the stockpile," Jagdeo said.

Three of Jamaica's four bauxite companies have ceased operating after low demand for alumina forced the sector to its knees. Prime Minister Bruce Golding has said the companies may never reopen unless Jamaica is able to source cheaper energy.

Tax paradise

Meanwhile, the decision by the G-8 to target tax paradises which protect individuals and firms could adversely affect the region's recovery, Jagdeo said.

"The pursuit by the developed countries of the so-called harmful tax jurisdictions may make the financial sector in our region less attractive than it was before the US, G-20, and particularly the G8, moved to blacklist and 'greylist' countries in our jurisdiction based on their financial practices," Jadgeo.

He told journalists that Antigua and Barbuda has said that it has lost 35 per cent of revenue compared with last year.

Jamaica has experienced a decline of seven per cent.

Jadgeo pointed to the fallout in remittances and tourism as factors affecting the region's ability to survive and said they are crippled by heavy debt burdens which retard their ability to respond effectively to the economic crisis.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com