Market Reports

FAIRS Report: Aruba (8/02/2007)

U.S. exports of agricultural products to Aruba clear customs quickly and freely. At the present time, Aruba has no health regulations regarding imported foods. U.S. standards for food and agricultural products are accepted. Import licenses and permits are not required. The length of time for clearance depends on factors, such as, the number of container ships arriving at the same time, how quickly they are unloaded and when they are transported to the importer. Most containers are usually cleared after two days.

Aruba holds its own as a transshipment center for Columbia, the European Union, Panama and Venezuela.  In 1999, $219 million of food and agricultural products were transshipped through the Free Zone of Aruba, mainly Scotch whiskey, American cigarettes, Dutch cheeses, European wines and refined sugar. Lucrative tax incentives and low operating costs have attracted new companies to the Free Zone, who are diversifying into new markets with new products such as candy, chocolates, skim milk powder and poultry purchased from suppliers in the United States. 

HRI Food Service Sector: Aruba  (Aug. 30, 2001)

Aruba's food service sector is slightly over $30 million with the U.S. boasting a 70% market share. U.S. and Italian cuisines are the most favored and many U.S. family style and fast food chains are thriving. Not surprising, U.S. tourist make over 60% of the 1 million tourists. This relatively high market is a great opportunity for U.S. companies willing to provide a high level of service and product quality to a very competitive market. 

Retail Food Sector in Aruba (2/15/2000) 

This interesting group of Dutch islands import 90 percent of their food products. As a result, import costs have dramatically decreased and most tariffs are kept under 10 percent. The United States appreciates 80 and 60 percent market share in Sint Maarten and Aruba respectively. Both islands are enjoying a thriving economy, which relies heavily on the tourism industry.

Consumer Food Market in Aruba

This 1997 guide is one of ten individual guides available (not including a summary guide), covering the following countries and territories: Aruba and Curacao; the Bahamas; Barbados; British Territories, comprising Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos; the Dominican Republic; Guadeloupe and Martinique; Haiti; Jamaica; and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, comprising Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts-Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 

Country Commercial Guide Index

Country Commercial Guides (CCG's) are prepared annually by U.S. Embassies with the assistance of several U.S. government agencies. These reports present a comprehensive look at countries' commercial environments, using economic, political and market analysis. 

Country Information Guide

The World Factbook -- provided by -- Central Intelligence Agency

The Hoover Commission's Clark Committee, set up in 1954 to study the structure and administration of the CIA, reported to Congress in 1955 that: "The National Intelligence Survey is an invaluable publication which provides the essential elements of basic intelligence on all areas of the world.  There will always be a continuing requirement for keeping the Survey up-to-date." The Factbook was created as an annual summary and update to the encyclopedic NIS studies.