If you import goods into Trinidad, you already know the frustration. You place an order, your supplier expects payment, and your freight forwarder needs settling and your bank cannot give you the US dollars you need for either. Not today. Maybe not this month.
This is not a temporary blip. The foreign exchange shortage in Trinidad and Tobago has become a structural reality, and businesses still waiting for things to return to normal are falling behind those that have already started adapting.
The scale of the problem is well documented. According to the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s Challenges in Accessing Foreign Exchange: Business Insights report (January 2025), which surveyed 111 businesses at the end of 2024, the findings were stark. Over 62% reported delays in paying overseas suppliers. Nearly 60% said the shortage was directly cutting into their profitability. More than half were receiving less than 25% of their monthly forex requirements through commercial banks. A 2024 US State Department assessment of Trinidad and Tobago found that many importers are waiting three to nine months to access US dollars to pay a supplier. For many, this is not an exceptional circumstance. It is the norm.
Freight forwarders in Trinidad are now forced to pay for freight in USD, when just a few years ago these charges could be settled in TTD. This has shifted the forex burden onto freight forwarders, who are not receiving even half of their USD requirements from commercial banks. As a result, freight forwarders are forced to charge their customers for freight in USD. While this practice is unpopular, it is the only way freight forwarders can keep pace with their USD demands.
What is more interesting than the problem itself is how businesses are responding to it. Rather than simply absorbing the pressure, importers across Trinidad are quietly rewriting the way they buy and ship. And the changes are more significant than most people realise.
The behavioural shifts are already visible to anyone watching closely. Businesses that once ordered monthly are stretching their cycles to quarterly, placing larger but less frequent orders to reduce the number of forex transactions they need to process. Consolidating shipments has become less of a cost-saving exercise and more of a survival strategy. There has also been a noticeable shift in how businesses are thinking about their supplier relationships. Negotiating longer payment windows with overseas suppliers has become a priority, buying businesses more time to accumulate the US dollars they need without falling behind on their obligations.
On the freight side, the knock-on effects are equally tangible. Some importers have moved from FCL to LCL arrangements, preferring to share container space rather than commit to full loads they may not be able to pay for promptly. Others have gone in the opposite direction, consolidating what were previously multiple smaller shipments into single larger ones to maximise cost savings associated with shipping a FCL.
For some businesses, the response has been more ambitious still. Rather than simply managing their USD outgoings, a growing number of Trinidad companies are actively increasing their exports, particularly into Guyana, as a way of earning more foreign exchange. Guyana’s economy has grown at a remarkable pace over the past five years, driven by its oil boom and a surge in infrastructure investment, and Trinidad businesses have been quick to recognise the opportunity. Boosting exports into that market not only generates USD revenue but reduces dependence on commercial banks for forex allocation. It is a strategic pivot that turns a constraint into a competitive advantage.
The businesses managing best right now are not waiting for the situation to be resolved. They are building flexibility into their supply chains so that forex pressure becomes a manageable constraint rather than a recurring crisis. Reviewing supplier payment terms to negotiate longer windows eases the pressure of sourcing dollars on tight deadlines. Maintaining visibility over your shipment pipeline, rather than booking reactively, gives you more control over when forex needs to be available. And working with a freight forwarder who genuinely understands the local banking environment means fewer surprises when timelines shift unexpectedly.
The forex crunch is not going away any time soon. But the businesses treating it as a prompt to build smarter, more resilient supply chains are the ones coming out ahead.
At ISL we work alongside importers across Trinidad and the wider Caribbean every day. Get in touch at info@isltrinidad.com or find out more about how ISL can support your business HERE
If you import goods into Trinidad, you already know the frustration. You place an order, your supplier expects payment, and your freight forwarder needs settling and your bank cannot give you the US dollars you need for either. Not today. Maybe not this month.
This is not a temporary blip. The foreign exchange shortage in Trinidad and Tobago has become a structural reality, and businesses still waiting for things to return to normal are falling behind those that have already started adapting.
The scale of the problem is well documented. According to the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s Challenges in Accessing Foreign Exchange: Business Insights report (January 2025), which surveyed 111 businesses at the end of 2024, the findings were stark. Over 62% reported delays in paying overseas suppliers. Nearly 60% said the shortage was directly cutting into their profitability. More than half were receiving less than 25% of their monthly forex requirements through commercial banks. A 2024 US State Department assessment of Trinidad and Tobago found that many importers are waiting three to nine months to access US dollars to pay a supplier. For many, this is not an exceptional circumstance. It is the norm.
Freight forwarders in Trinidad are now forced to pay for freight in USD, when just a few years ago these charges could be settled in TTD. This has shifted the forex burden onto freight forwarders, who are not receiving even half of their USD requirements from commercial banks. As a result, freight forwarders are forced to charge their customers for freight in USD. While this practice is unpopular, it is the only way freight forwarders can keep pace with their USD demands.
What is more interesting than the problem itself is how businesses are responding to it. Rather than simply absorbing the pressure, importers across Trinidad are quietly rewriting the way they buy and ship. And the changes are more significant than most people realise.
The behavioural shifts are already visible to anyone watching closely. Businesses that once ordered monthly are stretching their cycles to quarterly, placing larger but less frequent orders to reduce the number of forex transactions they need to process. Consolidating shipments has become less of a cost-saving exercise and more of a survival strategy. There has also been a noticeable shift in how businesses are thinking about their supplier relationships. Negotiating longer payment windows with overseas suppliers has become a priority, buying businesses more time to accumulate the US dollars they need without falling behind on their obligations.
On the freight side, the knock-on effects are equally tangible. Some importers have moved from FCL to LCL arrangements, preferring to share container space rather than commit to full loads they may not be able to pay for promptly. Others have gone in the opposite direction, consolidating what were previously multiple smaller shipments into single larger ones to maximise cost savings associated with shipping a FCL.
For some businesses, the response has been more ambitious still. Rather than simply managing their USD outgoings, a growing number of Trinidad companies are actively increasing their exports, particularly into Guyana, as a way of earning more foreign exchange. Guyana’s economy has grown at a remarkable pace over the past five years, driven by its oil boom and a surge in infrastructure investment, and Trinidad businesses have been quick to recognise the opportunity. Boosting exports into that market not only generates USD revenue but reduces dependence on commercial banks for forex allocation. It is a strategic pivot that turns a constraint into a competitive advantage.
The businesses managing best right now are not waiting for the situation to be resolved. They are building flexibility into their supply chains so that forex pressure becomes a manageable constraint rather than a recurring crisis. Reviewing supplier payment terms to negotiate longer windows eases the pressure of sourcing dollars on tight deadlines. Maintaining visibility over your shipment pipeline, rather than booking reactively, gives you more control over when forex needs to be available. And working with a freight forwarder who genuinely understands the local banking environment means fewer surprises when timelines shift unexpectedly.
The forex crunch is not going away any time soon. But the businesses treating it as a prompt to build smarter, more resilient supply chains are the ones coming out ahead.
At ISL we work alongside importers across Trinidad and the wider Caribbean every day. Get in touch at info@isltrinidad.com or find out more about how ISL can support your business HERE