JAMPRO Chairman Calls on Producers/Suppliers to Get Involved in Exports

Chairman of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Milton Samuda, has called on producers and suppliers to sharpen their innovative edge for participation in the export market.

“Beyond achieving the levels of productivity to satisfy the domestic market, the primary goal of Jamaican producers should be to expand production into key export markets.  We desperately need to earn foreign exchange. Profitable businesses earning Jamaican dollars only, should look to earning foreign exchange from overseas markets,” Mr. Samuda emphasised.

The Chairman was delivering the keynote address at the official launch of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s 15^th biennial trade show, Expo 2013, at the Secrets Wild Orchid Resort and Spa in Montego Bay, on July 29.

The three-day expo, to be held from October 11 to 13 will showcase a wide range of goods and services for the local and international markets. It will be staged at the Montego Bay Convention Centre under the theme: ‘Services Globalization … Enabling Business Development’.

Mr. Samuda said that companies which do not compromise on quality and demonstrate excellent supply chain reliability will form stronger and more sustained business linkages with buyers.

“This again is in keeping with the ethos of planning big and embraces Jamaica’s export sector as a critical component of the engine for national growth. In fulfilling its mandate to stimulate, facilitate and promote the development of trade in key sectors of the economy, JAMPRO will continue to provide practical support,” the Chairman said.

“That support consists of a wide range of value-added services for existing and potential exporters, with the aim of increasing their competitiveness and profitability.  Some of these services include: expert trade advice, assistance in becoming registered exporters, obtaining vital market information, and identifying sources of financing to facilitate developmental programmes,” he added.

The Chairman pointed out that for the exhibitors who will be participating in Expo 2013, the event represents an excellent opportunity to showcase the best of brand Jamaica’s products and services.

“The ‘Buy Jamaica, Build Jamaica’ campaign has long been the mantra of Jamaican manufacturers, but perhaps at no other juncture in Jamaica’s history has support by local consumers and institutional buyers been needed more, to stimulate increased economic activity in the country,” Mr. Samuda said.

“It is my hope that Expo 2013 will facilitate meaningful interaction between suppliers and institutional buyers and foster increased exploration of complementarities that will lead to solid business relationships,” the Chairman added.