Together with the other Windward Islands producers it has to compete with the large exporters from the US dollar areas, mainly in Latin America. Prices paid to local farmers have fallen because they are unable to match the economies of scale found in Latin America. The number of banana farmers has fallen from 4,366 in 1995 to 2,534 in 1999 while banana exports declined from 28,602 tonnes in 1998 to 27,264 tonnes in 1999. Other crops are under development, such as coffee, cocoa, mango, citrus and root crops such as dasheen, which are being promoted to diversify away from bananas. There is a very successful aqua culture project, prawn farming.
Manufacturing industry is small but takes advantage of locally-generated hydroelectricity.
Labour intensive electronic assembly plants and clothing manufacturing are being encouraged for their foreign exchange earnings potential, while data processing is also growing. There is a large pool of labour for garment production which attracts manufacturers, but they often move on to other areas when their duty-free concessions expire, usually after 10 years. Tourism is being promoted with the emphasis officially on nature tourism. Since then total stayover visitor arrivals have remained steady at around 74,000. The authorities claim they do not wish to jeopardize the Nature Island image, but concern has been expressed by conservationists over damage to the environment.