The Governments of Jamaica and the People’s Republic of China, on Thursday (September 19), signed a protocol governing the export of frozen lobster from the island to the Chinese market. The agreement outlines the sanitary and hygienic conditions necessary to facilitate such export and the responsibilities of the local competent authority/veterinary services division in coordination with the General Administration of...

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, has called for Corporate Jamaica to partner with the Government to help more of the nation’s youth acquire skills and competencies as part of the development of the country’s human capital. He was delivering the keynote address at the graduation ceremony for the CAC 2000 Foundation/Jamaica Social Investment Fund’s (JSIF) Air-Conditioning...

Two specialised agencies of the United Nations (UN) are looking to further collaborate with Jamaica on four major agricultural projects that are aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the sector. The projects are a national fruit tree planting programme; a national drip irrigation system; a crop insurance policy for small farmers; and a national home-grown school-feeding programme. Minister of Industry,...

President of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), Gloria Henry, has emphasised the importance of upskilling workers within the sector to respond to the increasing technological demands of the marketplace. Speaking with JIS News, Ms. Henry noted that the business process industry incorporates 80 per cent customer service; 18 per cent knowledge process, which includes shared services; and...

Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, is proposing a closer working relationship between the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and EXIM Bank Jamaica, in order to maximise funding resources available for on-lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). “If you look at the portfolio of the DBJ, I think that the larger sums that are on...

The Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) is calling on employers to embrace a change of culture within the organisation in order to improve employee engagement. The entity’s Chief Executive Officer, Valerie Veira, said that the workforce has become more multigenerational and diverse, with groups such as baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, and Generation Z operating in one space, and “we...

A publication on breadfruit is being hailed by Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Audley Shaw, as a useful resource in increasing production of the tree crop as Jamaica looks to further reduce its food-import bill. The ‘Breadfruit Germplasm Collection’ written by Professor Laura B. Roberts-Nkrumah of the Faculty of Food and Agriculture at the University of the West...