Business
Caribbean cannabis growers eye budding domestic sales and exports
Gemma HandyBusiness reporter, St John’s, Antigua
Gemma HandyRub the leaf and inhale the fragrance, Michaelus Tracey is saying.
The musky scent of this cannabis plant is distinctly different from the citrusy aroma of another that he is also holding.
To the untrained eye, the neat rows of flowering cannabis crops in front of us are indistinguishable from each other.
Yet master cultivator Tracey can identify the separate varieties by their smell and the shape of their leaves.
Nine strains are being grown here at Pineapple Road, a farm deep in the countryside on the Caribbean island of Antigua. The warm temperatures, abundant sunshine, and high humidity make this prime territory for growing the plants.
Intense trials were conducted to produce the various strains, Tracey explains. “We wanted different flavour profiles as well as different effects, but all with a medicinal value – something to help you relax, something to give you more energy, more pain relief, less anxiety.”
Gemma HandyLast year marked a decade since Jamaica decriminalised the recreational use of cannabis and legalised its production and sale for medical reasons. Several other Caribbean nations, including the twin island country Antigua and Barbuda in 2018, have since followed suit.
Smoking cannabis is emblematic of Caribbean culture, to the extent it has become a cliché. But while the region’s affection for the plant is well documented, its status as a leader in the field is less so.
Today the region is home to a plethora of legally registered cannabis farms and medicinal dispensaries, where both locals and tourists can purchase the drug if they have a valid medical authorisation card.
Yet Prof Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, an expert on the cannabis industry in the Caribbean, believes there needs to be further liberalisation.
“Decriminalisation isn’t good enough,” says Antoine, a former chair of the Caribbean Community’s Regional Commission on Marijuana. “We should just make it legal but regulated.”
Antoine is campus principal at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad, where researchers are due to start studying various potential benefits of cannabis.
Areas tipped for study range from alleviating the side effects of cancer treatment, to how the plant can boost agriculture by improving soil health. The research will take place in Antigua, where legislation is more progressive.
The work offers “a lot of potential”, she says, but adds that legalisation would make life easier.
“The Caribbean is a leader in cannabis, in terms of strains and knowledge, and it has a long tradition of this. But legalities, the ‘war on drugs’ and all that nonsense, stifled not just the industry, but research and development,” says Antoine.
Some in the region hope that US President Donald Trump’s executive order in December to reclassify cannabis as a lower-level drug will benefit the Caribbean.
“It’s a significant milestone,” says Alexandra Chong, chief executive of Jamaica-based business Jacana, which sells a range of products derived from cannabis, from extract oil drops to skin cream.
“So much US public policy gets filtered down to the Caribbean,” she says. “Because cannabis was classified as a schedule one drug alongside heroin in the US, regulatory bodies across the Caribbean have not been as bullish with [reducing] regulation.”
Chong adds that the US reducing cannabis to the lower schedule three level, which also includes combined paracetamol-codeine tablets, was “far more appropriate”.
The White House lowering the classification of cannabis may mean that in the future Caribbean nations can export the drug to the US for recreational use.
However, the importation of such cannabis into the US is currently still illegal under federal law. This is despite 24 US states having now legalised the use of the drug recreationally.
Producers in both Jamaica and Antigua are keen to start legally exporting the drug. Jamaica’s Cannabis Licensing Authority says it “has put in place interim administrative procedures to facilitate the export of ganja by licensees that hold a valid import permit from the country that the product will be exported to”.
Meanwhile, Antigua and Barbuda’s Medicinal Cannabis Authority is working hard to develop a cannabis export industry. “We already have the legal framework in place, a prime geographical location and an international airport,” the body’s chief executive Regis Burton tells the BBC.
He says it’s “highly likely” that Antigua will eventually be able to export its products, not least for the novelty value. “Very few people can say they’ve tried Antiguan cannabis,” he adds.
JacanaDomestically, high overheads in both Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda – and rules that limit the sale of cannabis to people with medical approval – are said to be leaving most of the market to illegal producers.
Jacana estimates that more than 800,000 people a year in Jamaica use cannabis, of whom half are tourists. But that 90% of the 87 tonnes of the drug consumed per annum comes through illicit channels.
Chong adds that “over-regulation has strangled the industry. Over time it’s got easier, but it’s by no means perfect”.
She says that due to these problems, she estimates that of the 160-plus licences of various categories granted by Jamaica’s Cannabis Licensing Authority between 2017 and 2024, “very few” are still in operation.
In Antigua, Robert Hill, a consultant to the industry, says: “It’s still more profitable to import cannabis illegally. Unlike dealers, private companies have staff and bills to pay.”
Currently the island has just six cannabis farms, four dispensaries and a cannabis lounge, where people can smoke on the premises. At the same time, Antiguan authorities intercepted 45kg of illegally imported cannabis in just 24 hours back in September.
Meanwhile, Antigua has been innovative in its approach to domestic illegal growers. Instead of prosecutions, violators were invited to take part in a free six-week course to teach them how to enter the market legally.
“Twenty-two have already graduated, with two soon to transition to a medicinal business,” Burton tells the BBC. “The industry won’t be successful if the illicit market does as it pleases.”
The continuing liberalisation of cannabis across the Caribbean is also said to be having a positive impact on social justice for one community in particular.
In 2018, Antigua’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne issued a formal apology to the country’s Rastafarians, for decades of historic persecution, stigma and abuse over their cannabis use. Six years later, the government granted Rastafarians official sacramental authorisation to grow the plants.
And last summer, it announced plans to expunge the criminal records of people previously prosecuted for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Gemma HandyBut for High Priest Selah, of Antigua’s Nyabinghi denomination of Rastafarians, memories of the harassment he and others once suffered still linger.
“The police were always coming and locking us up, destroying our plants, tarnishing our name and embarrassing us in public,” he recalls. Campaigners from his community played a major role in getting the plant decriminalised.
Back at Pineapple Road, two employees are carefully hand-rolling joints, each one containing a gram of pure marijuana, for sale in the company’s dispensary.
Burton hopes more local growers will get on board and keep the industry’s proceeds in Caribbean hands.
Hill agrees. “We have the ability to compete with much bigger countries thanks to our climate which reduces costs,” he says, adding: “We’re not trying to create an Amsterdam, this is about wellness.”
Business
Budget 2026: Fiscal deficit, capex, borrowing and debt roadmap among key numbers to track – The Times of India
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her record ninth straight Union Budget, with markets closely tracking headline numbers ranging from the fiscal deficit and capital expenditure to borrowing and tax revenue projections, as India charts its course as the world’s fastest-growing major economy.The Budget will be presented in a paperless format, continuing the practice of recent years. Sitharaman had, in her maiden Budget in 2019, replaced the traditional leather briefcase with a red cloth–wrapped bahi-khata, marking a symbolic shift in presentation.Here are the key numbers and signals that investors, economists and policymakers will be watching in the Union Budget for 2025-26 and beyond:
Fiscal deficit
The fiscal deficit for the current financial year (FY26) is budgeted at 4.4 per cent of GDP, as reported PTI. With the government having achieved its consolidation goal of keeping the deficit below 4.5 per cent, attention will turn to guidance for FY27. Markets expect the government to indicate a deficit closer to 4 per cent of GDP next year, alongside clarity on the medium-term debt reduction path.
Capital expenditure
Capital spending remains a central pillar of the government’s growth strategy. Capex for FY26 is pegged at Rs 11.2 lakh crore. In the upcoming Budget, the government is expected to continue prioritising infrastructure outlays, with a possible 10–15 per cent increase that could take capex beyond Rs 12 lakh crore, especially as private investment sentiment remains cautious.
Debt roadmap
In her previous Budget speech, the finance minister had said fiscal policy from 2026-27 onwards would aim to keep central government debt on a declining trajectory as a share of GDP. Markets will look for a clearer timeline on when general government debt-to-GDP could move towards the 60 per cent target. General government debt stood at about 85 per cent of GDP in 2024, including central government debt of around 57 per cent.
Borrowing programme
Gross market borrowing for FY26 is estimated at Rs 14.80 lakh crore. The borrowing number announced in the Budget will be closely scrutinised, as it signals the government’s funding needs, fiscal discipline and potential impact on bond yields.
Tax revenue
Gross tax revenue for 2025-26 has been estimated at Rs 42.70 lakh crore, implying an 11 per cent growth over FY25. This includes Rs 25.20 lakh crore from direct taxes—personal income tax and corporate tax—and Rs 17.5 lakh crore from indirect taxes such as customs, excise duty and GST.
GST collections
Goods and Services Tax collections for FY26 are projected to rise 11 per cent to Rs 11.78 lakh crore. Projections for FY27 will be keenly watched, especially as GST revenue growth is expected to gather pace following rate rationalisation measures implemented since September 2025.
Nominal GDP growth
Nominal GDP growth for FY26 was initially estimated at 10.1 per cent but has since been revised down to about 8 per cent due to lower-than-expected inflation, even as real GDP growth is pegged at 7.4 per cent by the National Statistics Office. The FY27 nominal GDP assumption—likely in the 10.5–11 per cent range—will offer clues on the government’s inflation and growth outlook.
Spending priorities
Beyond the headline aggregates, the Budget will also be scanned for allocations to key social and development schemes, as well as spending on priority sectors such as health and education.Together, these numbers will shape expectations on fiscal discipline, growth momentum and policy support as India navigates a complex global economic environment.
New Delhi: For decades, the Union Budget speech has followed a familiar script. But this year could mark a significant shift. In a departure from a 75-year tradition, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to use Part B of her Budget speech not just for tax proposals, but to outline a broader and more detailed vision for India’s economic future, according to a report by NDTV which cited sources.
Understanding Part A and Part B of the Budget
The Union Budget speech is divided into two key sections. Part A outlines the government’s broader policy initiatives and sector-specific strategies aimed at driving growth and development. Part B, on the other hand, deals primarily with taxation proposals, covering both direct and indirect taxes.
Part B May Outline Broader Economic Roadmap
This year, Part B of the Budget speech is expected to go beyond routine tax announcements and present both short-term priorities and long-term goals as India moves deeper into the 21st century, sources said. The focus is likely to highlight India’s domestic strengths while laying out its global ambitions. Economists in India and abroad are closely tracking the developments, expecting a comprehensive roadmap rather than just incremental tax measures.
This will be Nirmala Sitharaman’s ninth consecutive Union Budget presentation. In her first Budget in 2019, she made headlines by replacing the traditional leather briefcase, long used to carry Budget documents with a red cloth-wrapped ‘bahi-khata’, symbolising a break from colonial-era practices. Like the past four years, this year’s Budget will also be presented in a paperless format, continuing the government’s push towards digitisation.
For the current fiscal, capital expenditure has been pegged at Rs 11.2 lakh crore. The government is expected to retain its strong focus on infrastructure and asset creation in the upcoming Budget, with estimates suggesting a 10–15 per cent increase in the capex target, especially as private sector investment continues to remain measured.
Drinkers across the UK are set to face higher prices for wine and spirits as a significant increase in alcohol duty comes into effect this Sunday, 1 February.
Industry leaders warn that businesses “have no choice but to increase prices” to remain viable amid mounting financial pressures.
The tax levied on alcoholic beverages will rise by 3.66 per cent, in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation, a measure confirmed in November’s autumn budget.
While the duty is directly imposed on producers, industry chiefs anticipate a “trickle down” effect, with consumers ultimately bearing the brunt of these additional costs.
Official figures illustrate the impact: the duty on a typical 37.5 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) bottle of gin will climb by 38p to £8.98, inclusive of VAT.
Similarly, a 40 per cent ABV bottle of Scotch whisky will see its duty increase by 39p, reaching £9.51. A 14.5 per cent red wine will incur an additional 14p in duty.
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) highlighted that the duty on a 14.5 per cent red wine has now surged by £1.10 per bottle since the new alcohol duty regime was introduced in August 2023.
In response, the UK Spirits Alliance, representing hundreds of distillers, has urged the Chancellor to use an upcoming duty review to foster growth, address “spirits discrimination,” and establish a long-term strategy for the sector.
The duty structure, partly linked to drink strength, saw an overhaul in 2023, resulting in beer below 3.5 per cent ABV paying significantly less tax.
This has prompted some beer brands, such as Foster’s, to reduce their strength to 3.4 per cent in recent months to mitigate duty costs.
However, the latest increase will affect beer sold in both pubs and supermarkets, marking the first time pubs have been impacted since 2017.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, stated: “These changes unfortunately increase the likelihood of further price rises, which no brewer or publican would want to inflict on their customers.
“For brewers, who already pay some of the highest rates of beer duty in Europe, this increase will add further strain to their already razor-thin profit margins and risk one of the UK’s world-renowned industries producing the greatest beers in the world.”
Miles Beale, chief executive of the WSTA, criticised the government’s approach: “Despite the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) at last acknowledging higher prices lead to a decline in receipts, the Government fails to recognise that its own policy is benefiting no-one.
“For the nation’s wine and spirit sector the complexities of price changes, especially for wine which is now taxed by strength, mean more red tape headaches ahead.
“Add to this all the other costs – including NI (national insurance) contributions, business rates and waste packaging taxes – and businesses have no choice but to increase prices in order to keep afloat, which unfortunately means consumers are going to take the hit once again.”
Braden Saunders, spokesperson for the UK Spirits Alliance and co-founder of Doghouse Distillery, Battersea, remarked on the timing: “The timing couldn’t be more ironic. Just as dry January draws to a close and people contemplate their first hard-earned drink, they’re met with higher prices at the bar.
“The spirits industry has been treated as a cash cow by consecutive governments, and the sector is on its knees.”
Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, echoed these concerns: “Hospitality businesses are facing price pressures at every turn and our sector’s cost burden is growing at an unsustainable rate.
“Increases to alcohol duty, while not paid directly by operators, is another pressure, if it is passed on to businesses through higher drinks prices. We strongly urge suppliers to show restraint in doing so, recognising the economic pressure the sector is under.”
A Treasury spokesman defended the policy, stating: “For too long the economy hasn’t worked for working people, and cost-of-living pressures still bear down. That’s why we are determined to help bring costs down for everyone.
“It’s why we’re taking £150 off energy bills, increasing the National Living Wage, ending the two-child limit, rolling out free breakfast clubs for all primary school children, and freezing fuel duty, rail fares and prescription fees.
“We need to rebuild the public services we all rely on. We’ve put record funding into our schools and NHS to give every child the best start in life and bring down waiting lists.
“Alcohol duty plays an important role in ensuring public finances remain fair and strong and funds the public services people rely on every day.”
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