This summer, at the CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting in Montego Bay, Prime Minister Mia Mottley made a quietly powerful announcement: at least two CARICOM member states are moving to acquire cargo planes to help solve one of the region’s most chronic and costly problems—logistics.

It wasn’t flashy. It didn’t grab headlines. But it should have.

Because if we get this right, regional cargo aviation could be the key to unlocking Caribbean food security, trade independence, and economic resilience in ways that decades of talk and policy papers have failed to do.

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The Real Cost of Fragmented Logistics

We’ve long known that the Caribbean’s logistics infrastructure is underdeveloped and disjointed. Moving goods between our own islands often costs more—and takes longer—than importing from Miami or Rotterdam. That’s not just inefficient. It’s unjust.

Farmers who grow enough to feed three islands are stuck selling to one market. Manufacturers who could supply the region’s hotels are forced to import packaging and ingredients from abroad. Meanwhile, cost-of-living pressures escalate and food import bills soar past US $6 billion a year.

Prime Minister Mottley put it bluntly: “There are still too many gaps and the major issue of logistics.” She’s right. And this cargo plane initiative could be the solution we’ve needed all along.

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A Flight Path Toward Food Security

The move to acquire cargo aircraft isn’t just about transport—it’s about strategy.

With the region working toward its “25 by 2025” goal (reducing food imports by 25% by 2025), supply chains must keep pace with production goals. Growing more food is only useful if we can move it where it’s needed.

Cargo planes can make this happen. They offer:

• Faster delivery of perishable goods
• Reliable supply lines during hurricanes or maritime disruptions
• Fairer market access for rural and small-scale producers
• More competitive pricing for everyday consumers

But it must go beyond two countries. If CARICOM is serious about integration, this needs to become a regional logistics network—not just an isolated experiment.

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A Call for Regional Vision

The question now isn’t whether this is a good idea. It’s whether we will support, scale, and sustain it.

Imagine a Caribbean where mangoes from St. Lucia are in shops in Antigua the next day. Where agro-processors in Suriname can ship to Barbados without weeks of delay. Where vaccines, emergency supplies, and school textbooks move between islands without bottlenecks or bureaucratic chokeholds.

That future is within reach—but only if we build it deliberately.

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What’s Needed Next

Here’s what leaders, businesses, and citizens must push for:

• A regional cargo coordination body to manage routes, cargo space, and standards
• Digital booking and tracking platforms for transparency and efficiency
• Investment from both public and private sectors—with equity models to ensure shared returns
• A regional conversation on freight subsidies or cooperative logistics models to include small producers

We need to treat logistics as critical infrastructure, not a side issue. We don’t build hospitals without roads—so why grow food without freight?

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Beyond Planes: This Is About Sovereignty

At its heart, this isn’t about aircraft. It’s about independence. The Caribbean cannot afford to be at the mercy of foreign freight, overpriced air cargo, or supply chains that break under pressure.

When we control our own movement of goods, we gain leverage, resilience, and dignity. Regional cargo planes may never trend on social media—but they might just be the smartest investment this generation of Caribbean leaders can make.

Let’s not let this idea stall on the runway.

The sky belongs to us, too.

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