KINGSTON, Jamaica--Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Audley Shaw is imploring Jamaican producers to design goods for expanding international markets that are interested in items from the island.
Addressing the Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise (MSME) National Policy Implementation Committee (NPIC) quarterly meeting on Tuesday, Shaw said overseas markets are emerging every day and are looking for new items, and “we have a lot of the new things that they are looking for.”
“Target them in a forensic way. Markets are out here, disposable income is expanding in a lot of developed countries, and they are looking for opportunities to purchase things,” he told the audience.
Shaw said that the “landscape of opportunities” is not short, and the way forward rests on how “we come together and grasp these opportunities to expand and grow the export sector.”
The minister added that with the authorities in the United States (US) recently giving approval for Jamaica to export mangoes to that country, much of the “bogus” fruit will have to give way to the genuine produce that the consumers want. He also listed castor beans, coconut and cannabis as being in high demand, and urged manufacturers to seize the vast opportunities that are available.
“The more we facilitate and strengthen opportunities for our entrepreneurs to do business, the greater will be the country’s capacity to expand economic growth and create employment,” he said. ~ Caribbean360 ~
