This small multi-island state imports most of its food as well as other goods that it does not manufacture. In 1998 the value of imports was as much as 9 times the value of exports. In 1998 total exports amounted to US$38 million while imports stood at US$330 million.
The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) comprised 26 percent of the country's exports, Barbados took in 15 percent, Guyana 4 percent, and Trinidad and Tobago 2 percent. The United States imported only .03 percent. Of imports, some 27 percent came from the United States, 16 percent from the United Kingdom, 4 percent from Canada, and 3 percent from the OECS.
The country is a party to several trade agreements, including the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) with the United States, Caribcan with Canada, the Lomé Convention (a cooperation agreement between the EU and the ACP, the latter consisting of several African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries), and the Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM).
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