Revived Industries Offer Promise as Haitians Rebuild

Over two years after one of Haiti’s most devastating earthquakes, incoming foreign investment has allowed the country to explore new industries and revive past ones. Last November, President Michel Martelly announced that Haiti is “open for business,” despite facing the challenge of over a million homeless and a cholera epidemic. Now, mining, tourism, and coffee could foster new jobs and investment in a country still struggling to rebuild after a devastating earthquake.

Estimated to be worth $20 billion, Haiti’s nascent mining industry offers the most promise. Geologists found evidence of precious metals in the 1970s, but political instability dampened investment enthusiasm. After the January 2010 earthquake, however, mining companies stepped up exploration efforts, encouraged by large foreign investments in reconstruction. Geologists now believe that Haiti has an estimated 1 million ounces of gold and over 1 million tons of copper. Furthermore, last month geologists confirmed the country’s first silver deposit. 

Haitian mining company Societé Minière du Nord-Est (SOMINE) has full control over mining concessions, though a number of North American firms, such as Majescor, Eurasian Minerals, and Newmont are exploring mineral deposits. Such deposits also run along the Dominican side of the border, where the mining industry only developed in the last three decades—meaning Haiti could follow in its neighbor’s footsteps. “Resources are probably one of the shortest routes to Haiti getting foreign-currency reserves and direct investment,” said mining analyst Eric Coffin in a May 8 interview. Still, concerns remain, including government corruption, the risk of environmental degradation, and a lack of infrastructure.

As a part of rebuilding efforts, hotel construction is underway—at least seven sites are under construction at the moment totalling over $100 million in investment. Crews are at work on a $45 million Marriott hotel slated to open in 2014, as well as a Best Western and a Royal Oasis, the last being a joint project between the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund and the non-profit Oasis Foundation. While hotels expect contractors, aid workers, and other foreign employees to occupy rooms, the Haitian government is also intent on marketing Haiti as a tourism destination. In February, the government announced plans for 2013, when the country will host the first cruise ship to dock in Haiti’s capital in over two decades. This month, the Ministry of Tourism selected a new logo and slogan as part of the campaign to lure tourists. Soon, visitors to Haiti will have to pay a $10 fee to enter the country, as well as pay higher taxes on airfares. In a December speech to promote this nascent industry, Martelly declared: “We no longer want handouts…we want to show the other part of Haiti that has never been shown to the world.” 

Haiti’s coffee industry is also on the upswing, producing around 400,000 bags of beans per year—around double the amount it produced in the 1990s. In January, the Inter-American Development Bank and France's development agency awarded a $3 million grant to Haitian coffee growers, aimed to benefit 10,000 farmers. Beans from Gwo Chwal, one of Haiti’s top coffee growing regions, are now selling to Japan for $5.50 a pound, up from $0.30 in previous years. However, coffee speculators from neighboring Dominican Republic present one of the biggest challenges to the industry: approximately $50 million is lost each year due to illegal smuggling. 

Learn More:

• Read about Haiti’s post-quake recovery and perspectives on development from an AS/COA program on the Caribbean country. 
• Learn about mining laws under consideration in Haiti from the Americas Quarterly blog.
• Read about Haiti’s new mining industry in an Associated Press report. 
• See a photo slideshow from The Washington Post on Haiti’s potential tourism revival.