The World Famous Nassau Straw Market has its roots in the Market House where “fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and sponges”[1] were traded in the early 1900’s. Eventually the fish vendors moved to Potter’s Cay and only straw and other craft vendors remained in the market.

In 1962 Market House was condemned but it remained functioning until it burned down in 1974.

A new market was finally built in 1980 and this burned in 2001 and the vendors were moved to a make shift market just a couple hundred feet west on Bay Street where it stands today under a huge tent.

Many will argue that tourists love the straw market and it is a cultural icon so it should be rebuilt as soon as possible.

Other people argue that the straw market is over run with foreign workers who produce very little native straw or craft work so what is the point of spending millions of dollars to rebuild a straw market on prime down town property.

Throughout the years, the Straw Vendors have been very vocal advocates for a new straw market using tax dollars.

There is also an argument that very little straw or craft work is done in the straw market so why should importers of items for retail be provided with a premises at the expense of other Bahamian taxpayers.

So to sort through the muddle, The Nassau Institute commissioned a brief study to determine what the facts are on the ground in the “World Famous Nassau Straw Market” today.

Purpose of Study

The objective was to find answers from the perspective of the relevant government authority and the vendors themselves.

The questions asked of the relevant responsible government officer were:

1. How many vendors are licensed to operate in the straw market?
2. What are the criteria to obtain a licence?
3. Is ‘sub-renting’ licences permitted?
4. What are the licence fees?
5. What is the percentage of Bahamian products sold?

The core questions posed to the veteran vendors that were interviewed were:

1. To your knowledge, how many vendors have been licensed to operate in the Straw Market?
2. Do vendors rent out their stalls to other persons?
3. What nationality are those persons?
4. What percentage of vendors in the straw market would you say are non-Bahamian?
5. What is the usual sub-lease fee?
6. What types of products are sold in the Straw Market?
7. What do you estimate is the percentage of authentic Bahamian products sold?

Findings (Excerpt from study)

Governance of the straw market

Vendors must complete an application (copy available upon request), which requests information on nationality, type of products to be sold, number of children, and whether helpers would be required. Additionally, two references, a police certificate, a passport size photograph and a current Bahamian passport are requested.

The information and accompanying documents are used to ensure Bahamian nationality. No non-Bahamian is issued a licence (registered or assigned a stall) to operate in the straw market. The information also documents the type of products that will be sold. However, there is no requirement that the products sold are either straw products or Bahamian products. It is the wish of government officials, though, that primarily straw and Bahamian products are sold in the straw market.

Additional requirements for operating in the straw market are a business licence and the payment of an annual stall rental fee of $100. Attempts to determine the number of vendors currently operating who have paid the $100 fee up to last year were unsuccessful as the researcher was told that the list is currently being updated. A request to have sight of the rules and regulations governing the conduct and operations of stall holders was also denied. The reason given was that the rules were being reviewed and had not yet been approved by the relevant government officer.

Six hundred and five vendors have been assigned stalls in the straw market by the relevant government department. Currently that department is headed by a first assistant secretary in the Ministry of Works. Previously the straw market was under the auspices of the Ministry of National Security, and before that the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

A physical count of the number of stalls actually operating was attempted but due to factors such as more than one person attending a stall; one person attending more than one stall; stalls that were on the outer edges of the market, no visible stall-numbering, and the physical structure which did not lend to a clear demarcation of stalls. However, the researcher counted some 590 stalls. Information provided by a senior vendor suggests that there are about 626 vendors operating in the straw market.

Operations

The researcher was advised by the relevant government official that ‘sub-renting’ of stalls is illegal. However, there is no enforcement of this practice because when vendors are found operating a stall for which they do not have the authority, ‘they have a story’. The story is that they are only taking care of the stall because the registered vendor could not make it that day or is sick or for other similar reasons. These stories, whatever they are, would always be corroborated by the registered vendor. The vendors interviewed were reluctant to comment on whether stalls are rented out.

There are three distinct accents heard coming from vendors in the straw market. These accents are mostly Haitian and Jamaican, with Bahamian being the minority accent. Interviews with vendors suggest that less than 5% of salespersons in the straw market are Bahamian.

It is important to note that accents do not reflect nationality. Many registered vendors have origins outside The Bahamas but are currently Bahamian citizens. Further, all salespersons in the straw market are not registered vendors. Almost all vendors employ salespersons. These salespersons are almost all non-Bahamian, mostly Haitian or Jamaican. The reason given by all vendors interviewed and by the government official is that ‘Bahamians do not want to work’. It was emphasised though that the Haitian and Jamaican employees have legal status, either work or residency permits.

Products

A wide array of products are sold in the straw market, including clothing, knockoff handbags, suitcases, wallets and backpacks, jewellery and souvenirs. Wood carvings and straw products are also sold.

Two visits were made to the straw market to gather information regarding the type of products sold and to estimate the percentages of straw products and Bahamian products sold to total products sold. On the first visit 22 stalls were sampled. Of these, it was found that 19% of the products sold were made of straw and 15% of the products sold were Bahamian made. In this sample, 59% of the stalls did not sell straw products and 46% did not sell any Bahamian products.

20 stalls were sampled on the second visit. Of these, it was found that 20% of the products sold were made of straw. 10% of the products sold were Bahamian made. In this sample, 45% of the stalls did not sell any straw products and 55% did not sell any Bahamian products.

Taking the two samples (42 stalls) together, 19% of the products sold were made of straw; 13% of the products sold were Bahamian, 52% sold no straw products and 50% of the stalls sampled sold no Bahamian products.[2]

Driving the prevalence of so many non-Bahamian made products sold in the straw market is profit. The vendors explain the situation as follows:

i. Vendors have become accustomed to enjoying much success in their operations over the years. Vendors are not willing to compromise on their consequent high standard of living.

ii. The price required to generate the sale of the Bahamian made product does not allow sufficient mark-up to realise an adequate profit if the ratio of Bahamian- to foreign-made products were higher.

iii. The cost of producing, for example, a Bahamian straw bag is high, due to the number of hours required to ‘work’ a bag. It is suggested that at most no more than four bags can be worked in one day. Adding to this is the cost of the raffia used to decorate the bag, which is also considered high.

iv. The quality of inputs is not good. Tourists are looking for more refined straw products. The quality of the straw used by suppliers to persons selling local straw products in the straw market does not meet the demand of consumers who are looking for premium products. The quality of other locally made straw products allows for much higher sale prices than is feasible in the straw market. By and large buyers – tourist and locals expect ‘bargains’ from the straw market.

v. Supply of local straw products is unreliable.

vi. Foreign made products sold in the straw market originate mostly from China, and some from the Philippines, but are purchased for the most part out of Florida. These products are cheap to buy and allow for pricing that suits tourists and provides a handsome mark-up for the vendor.

vii. On the demand side, tourists are buying the vast array of foreign products sold.

The most profitable selling products are ‘knock-offs’ – imitation brand name items for which the purchaser can pay less than half the price of the real brand name item. Some stalls sell only ‘knock-offs’. Illegal copies of recently released movies can be bought for $5 each.

Informal financial services – asue, loans, foreign currency exchange and lottery numbers – are also available within the straw market, sold by vendors and outsiders. Asue groups with draws from $5,000 up to $20,000 are not uncommon. Short-term loans for up to a month are available for a fee depending on the amount and length of the loan. A currency exchange service is also provided within the straw market. And the purchase of foreign lottery or local lottery tickets is available. One vendor suggested that ‘whatever you want you can get in the straw market.’

Conclusion

This brief study provides insights into the operations of one of the country’s premier business enclaves. A more in-depth study is required as the straw market has been a key player in the socio-political-economic environment of The Bahamas.

The size of asue draws indicates a lucrative business conducted almost exclusively by women, who for the most part are continuing family traditions. The astute business acumen of the vendors within this context is obvious. There is a need to understand the importance of the straw market’s value to the tourism industry and the broader economy.

The results of the study confirm the generally perceived notions about the straw market, especially as regards the infusion of a strong foreign element with respect to workers and the product line.

I. The official number of vendors operating in the downtown Nassau straw market is 605.

II. Officially there are no foreign vendors operating in the downtown Nassau straw market.

III. The estimated percentage of Bahamian made products sold in the downtown Nassau straw market is 13%. Therefore 87% of products sold are foreign-made.

Clearly the term ‘straw market’ is a misnomer. And most of the ‘Bahamian souvenirs’ sold are not Bahamian. The persons likely to interact with tourists in the ‘straw market’ are also not obviously Bahamian.

(End of excerpt)

Points worth considering

The entrepreneurial skills of the vendors are unquestionable and many of them are successful in their own right. However, one has to consider that their operations are subsidised by the government and these benefits are not provided to all retailers serving the tourist market.

Selling “knockoff” products and copied videos is illegal in most countries. We should ask ourselves if tax dollars should be used to support this activity.

Another valid point to consider is the use of badly needed money to repair infrastructure and schools. Should the $23 million that have been budgeted to construct a straw market, (that in reality is not a straw market) be re-prioritised for other urgent national needs?

The profit motive is obviously a strong incentive for the vendors, as it should be. This is the same reason all entrepreneurs go into business. However, subsidising the sale of cheap imported souvenirs does not seem to be a good use for tax dollars.

Should the country use premier income-generating property for government to build a complex for 605 vendors who reportedly do not pay their rent at the expense of other business people and tax-paying Bahamians?

Public Policy Recommendations

Successive governments have put themselves in a difficult position. Having subsidised the vendors at the expense of all other Bahamian taxpayers, the vendors now believe they are entitled to it.

As previously noted, the vendors are good at making money and should use this expertise to build and manage their own complex and get out from under the thumb of government dependency.

If government should provide premises for anyone it should be for legitimate Bahamian straw and craft vendors and no one else.

I would recommend that government provide a site near downtown if possible and sign the title of the property over to a legitimate vendor association for $1 fee simple and wash their hands of being a supporter of successful business people. This might assuage the conscience of those politicians that wish to maintain a nanny state.

The vendors can work to promote their market in the same way that the vendors at Arawak Cay do. If the straw market is the attraction for tourists that the vendors and others purport, they should have no trouble finding customers.

[1] Bahama Pundit

[2] It is not statistically valid to infer these results as representation of all stalls in the straw market. In order to do this inferential statistical testing is required.