By Vanessa James
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (JIS) – A delegation from Trinidad and Tobago is in the island as part of a business mission aimed at increasing trade and investment between the countries. The four-day Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) Trade Mission got under way on Monday, with a ‘Doing Business With Jamaica’ seminar at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.
The mission is aimed at identifying opportunities in the Jamaican market for trade as well as the sourcing of inputs for Trinidad and Tobago’s production processes.
Permanent Secretary in the ministry of industry, investment and commerce, Sancia Bennett Templer, who addressed the seminar, encouraged the businesspeople to broaden their engagement in the island by selling their products and exploring investment opportunities.
Bennett Templer touted Jamaica as the premier destination for investment, highlighting the country’s low unemployment rate, reduced debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio and $5.7 billion in net international reserves (NIR).
“Jamaica continues to distinguish itself as a premier destination for investments, offering a strategic location, modern infrastructure, and a skilled and adaptable workforce and we are committed to fostering a business-friendly environment,” Bennett Templer said. The various incentives available to investors in manufacturing, which she said, would appeal to Trinidad and Tobago investors, as the “country is big in manufacturing.”
Bennett Templer also urged companies to look at Jamaica’s unique location, which can be used to centralise regional operations, noting that there are incentives for companies that want to establish their headquarters here; and further highlighted the government’s measures to digitalise public services, consolidate taxes, reform customs and overhaul outdated bureaucracy, as well as investment in the physical infrastructure.
Bennett Templer noted that local business would like to get more products into the Trinidad market. She said that in 2023, Jamaica exported US$35.8 million in goods to Trinidad and Tobago, while in the same year, the country exported US$227 million in goods to Jamaica.
“We have a lot of catching up to do and… we need to be ensuring that we are looking south (to other Caribbean Countries) and not always looking north in how we expand our businesses and export our products,” Bennett Templer stated. “So, let us make a clear call to action to deepen our bilateral relationships between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Let us seize the complementarity of our markets, leverage in Jamaica’s connectivity and talent pool with Trinidad’s industrial strength and energy advantage.”
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TTMA, Dr Ramesh Ramdeen, echoed similar sentiments, stating that “trade is a two-way flow.” He said that while members of the TTMA delegation are looking to expand their market opportunities into Jamaica, there are some people who are searching for investment prospects.
“Just as how we have interest in the Jamaican market, because we see it as a very significant market for Trinidad and Tobago products, Trinidad can be a very significant market for Jamaican products,” Dr Ramdeen said. The business community in Trinidad and Tobago and the business community in Jamaica could benefit from this platonic relationship that we’re trying to forge… . We are open for business with Jamaica, and we would love to see the Jamaican products in the Trinidad market,” Dr Ramdeen said.
He extended an invitation to Jamaican manufacturers to attend the twin-island’s biggest trade show, the Trinidad & Tobago International Trade and Investment Convention (TIC) in July.
Ramdeen noted that more than 30 countries will be participating in the event, including buyers from the Caribbean, Central and North America, Europe, Africa, with more than 350 companies exhibiting products.
The TTMA Trade Mission, which concludes on May 16, will entail activities in Kingston and Montego Bay.
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