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The Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance is Proud to Announce a New Official Alliance Member: the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association

The Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance (JERA) is proud to announce that the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) has joined the alliance.

The Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association is a leading industry association dedicated to providing vital support to exporters, manufacturers, service providers, micro, small and medium enterprises through advocacy, strategic partnerships, export services, research, capacity building, and access to finance.

As an Alliance member, JMEA is part of the largest solar demand aggregation campaigns in Jamaica and will leverage the Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance’s resources in advancing sustainability business interests and promoting solar opportunities within the country’s manufacturing and export sectors for greater energy resilience.

In January 2021, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance launched the Strengthening Energy Sector Resilience in Jamaica programme. The programme aims to strengthen Jamaica’s energy sector with the ability to rebound quickly from disasters by supporting the enabling environment for the adoption of distributed and resilient renewable energy technologies, specifically solar photovoltaics, and photovoltaics with battery storage.

Under USAID’s Strengthening Energy Sector Resilience programme, the Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance is helping businesses seeking to reduce power costs, increase reliability of supply, and enhance their operations with no-cost assistance to inform solar technologies implementation and decision-making. Alliance members Wigton Windfarms, Xergy Energy, and WRB Energy have pledged up to US $50M dollars to support solar photovoltaics and photovoltaics with battery storage leasing in Jamaica.

“The Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association views this alliance membership as critical in advancing our members’ conversion to solar in order to reduce their energy costs. This is also important from the standpoint of the country as our expenditure on imported fossil fuels exceeds the value of our total exports and makes us vulnerable as a small island nation” said John Mahfood, President of Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Collaboration between the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance has already led to dozens of the association’s members to register and participate in USAID’s Strengthening Energy Sector Resilience programme. To date, the Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance has supported solar photovoltaics and photovoltaics with battery storage projects in Jamaica with a combined 741.5 kilowatts of solar capacity.

Furthermore, several more members are currently in different stages of preparation to implement solar technologies and are receiving free energy advisory services from the Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance, including site assessment visits and introductions to qualified installers and financial institutions offering solar loans.
Businesses interested in reducing power costs, increasing reliability of supply, and enhancing operations with solar photovoltaics and photovoltaics with battery storage technology should contact Nicqui Graveney at nicqui@jmea.org or visit www.cadmusgroup.com/jamaicaenergy to become part of the Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance programme.

About the Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance
The Jamaica Energy Resilience Alliance (JERA) is a group of like-minded energy leaders from local and international private sectors, research, and academia with a shared vision to promote and support the solar energy sector in Jamaica.

JMEA & JAPA Advises on the Safety and Precautions of Buying and Consuming Ackee Locally

Kingston, Jamaica: The Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) and the Jamaica AgroProcessors Association (JAPA) are aware of the current widespread concerns regarding the safety of ackees, Jamaica’s national fruit. Particularly, concerns revolve around the safety of the fruit, whether the current drought has affected the natural process by which the fruit becomes detoxified (and thus safe for consumption) and unsafe practices that are reportedly being employed in preparing and offering the fruit for sale in our local market. The JMEA and JAPA, both entities that are advised by the best expertise available on ackees, can assure the public that ackees, handled and produced for consumption locally in accordance with well-known and well-established traditional practices and norms, are safe.

Extensive work done by researchers at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and Technological Solutions Limited (TSL), supported by historical data gathered by the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ), has characterized the stages of ripening of the fruit, its safety and (in 2005/2006) the impact of drought and weather-related conditions on the toxin content of the fruit. This work (which is published internationally) and the scientists that produced it, assure us that nothing has substantially changed over the years. Specifically, TSL also advises that current data confirm that ackees which were selected when fully opened, continue to be substantially free of hypoglycin, the toxin associated with ackee poisoning.

Over the last 25 years, members of the JMEA and JAPA, supported by this local expertise have invested heavily in the study of, and development of systems to ensure the safety of ackees processed for local consumption and for exports. This has resulted in canned ackees being amongst the safest of commercially processed products, whether offered for sale locally or exported. In fact, there has never been a credible incident of ackee poisoning reported for canned ackees in the more than 50 years that canned ackees have been offered for sale in Jamaica and internationally.

Besides representing a significant component of our processed food exports (valued at US$24.5 million in 2021), ackees are an important part of Jamaican culture. The JMEA and JAPA, therefore wish Jamaicans to be assured that their national fruit, whether produced for local sale or for export, continues to be safe. We urge consumers, however, to ensure that they know and trust the source from which they are getting the fruit and to use only fruit taken from fully ripened, wide open pods to prepare their favourite ackee meal.

For more information, please contact:
Shantole Thompson
Marketing & PR Manager, JMEA
shantole@jmea.org; 876-582-9742
OR
Bobique Brown
Marketing & PR Officer, JMEA
bobique@jmea.org; 876-232-9701

JMEA EXPLORES OPPORTUNITIES IN THE JAPANESE FOOD AND BEVERAGE MARKET
TOKYO, JAPAN – 07 MARCH 2023: A three-member delegation from the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) has arrived in Japan to participate in the FOODEX JAPAN 2023 Observation Tour—a strategic opportunity as Jamaican exporters seek greater access to the Japanese food and beverage market.
The Embassy of Jamaica in Tokyo secured the invitation and sponsorship from the Japan Management Association (JMA) for the delegation to attend the Observation Tour, as part of the 48th staging of the International Food and Beverage Exhibition (FOODEX JAPAN 2023) scheduled for March 07–10.
Over the next 4 days, the delegation comprising John Mahfood (President), Richard Pandohie (Immediate Past President) and Mrs. Kamesha Blake (Executive Director) will engage with and gain insights from the sponsors and exhibitors as the JMEA prepares to attend FOODEX JAPAN as a full exhibitor in 2024. The JMEA will seek to increase market opportunities for Jamaican products with an initial focus on spices, condiments and beverages.
At the close of day one, JMEA President John Mahfood shared: “Tremendous effort on the part of the Embassy of Jamaica in Tokyo to arrange this visit for us. FOODEX JAPAN is an interesting expo with over 3000 exhibitors showcasing thousands of products. It is valuable for businesses in the industry to attend this event and get new ideas, especially when considering new markets. From the JMEA’s perspective, we hope to have several of our members showcasing products at next year’s expo.”
The invitation to FOODEX JAPAN comes as the Embassy of Jamaica in Tokyo continues to actively engage Japanese partners together with Rodney Reid, Jamaica’s Honorary Investment Adviser (HIA) in Japan, to explore opportunities for Jamaican exporters. The Embassy and HIA have been working closely under the Government of Jamaica’s Economic Diplomacy Programme (EDP) to strengthen links with the Japanese private sector to boost Jamaica’s trade and investment prospects in this region.
Jamaica’s Ambassador to Japan, Shorna-Kay Richards, shared that: “With the launch of the new EDP, a joint initiative between the Jamaican Foreign Ministry and JAMPRO, our embassies have had an increased role in promoting Jamaica’s trade and investment agenda. This is a role that we fully embrace. The Embassy and HIA are therefore pleased that our engagement with the JMA led to this opportunity for the Jamaican private sector.”
“Since Prime Minister Holness visited Japan in 2019, there has been a greater push to strengthen economic ties between Jamaica and Japan. The JMEA’s participation in the Observation Tour is another important step in these efforts. Japan is a longstanding partner with links to several key sectors in Jamaica thanks to the coffee, cotton and motor vehicle trades. We want to expand these links and balance our trading relationship with Japan by creating opportunities for Jamaican exporters.”

In welcoming the JMEA’s participation, JAMPRO’s VP of Marketing Gabriel Heron added that: “JAMPRO fully supports the participation of John Mahfood and his team who, together with the support of the Jamaican Embassy in Tokyo, will unearth the potential export opportunities presented by FOODEX JAPAN. It promises to be a very insightful observatory tour as we focus on getting our private sector into new markets for trade and investment under the EDP initiative.”
To round off the week’s activities, the Embassy will be arranging a series of engagements for the JMEA executives with key Japanese government entities, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The Agency’s export promotion experts with experience in Latin American and the Caribbean will meet with the delegation to discuss market entry strategies for Japan. The Embassy will also host a networking dinner with representatives from the Japanese public and private sectors who are involved in various areas of the bilateral agenda between Jamaica and Japan.
FOODEX JAPAN is one of the largest food and beverage exhibitions in Asia. Held every year since 1976, FOODEX JAPAN has

 

 

 

 

 

For more information:

Contact:

Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association
E-mail: jmea@jmea.org or kamesha@jmea.org
Telephone: +1 (876) 922-8880
OR
Embassy of Jamaica in Tokyo
E-mail: info@jamaicaembassy.jp
Telephone: +81 (0) 3-3435-1861