Category: News

The ironing out of some structural infringements and greater sensitisation about processes across various groupings has been cited among the immediate fixes needed to counter Jamaica’s lacklustre export performance for businesses.

President of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) John Mahfood speaking with the Jamaica Observer said that while some progress has been made over the last few years, a lot of work needs to be done if as a country we are to increase export output or even get close to the heydays when

Imega Breese McNab will be taking up a senior management position at Carreras Limited, starting on Tuesday, August 8.

She will become the cigarette trading company’s legal & external affairs manager, a position formerly held by Cammeca Cookhorn, who resigned in May 2022.

Former Executive Director of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Imega Breese McNab, is set to officially assume her new position at Carreras Limited on Tuesday, August 8.

In her new role, Breese McNab will take on the responsibilities of Legal and External Affairs Manager, replacing Cammeca Cookhorn.

A delegation from the Indian Economic Trade Organisation (IETO), led by its president Dr Asif Iqbal, on Friday expressed interest in deepening trade relations between Jamaica and the subcontinent, as well as in increasing knowledge exchange and public-private partnerships.

A follow-up to the IETO’s visit in March to attend JMEA/Jampro Expo Jamaica 2023, last week’s mission included courtesy calls on the Ministry of Tourism;

FOR more than 25 years bulk chemical distributor Island Products Manufacturing Limited has kept delivering from its retail outlet on Ken Hill Drive in St Andrew, and has seen tremendous growth despite strong competition.

In the late 90s, products like fabric softeners were considered items only people of higher status in society could afford.

TIMES ARE hard, and so some people have more than one stream of income. This has given rise to a wide variety of cottage industries in Jamaica. For some, their small business is the only source of income. And there are those who are even using their home as ‘factories’, providing jobs for family and non-family members.

But after all is said and done, there have to be markets in which products are disposed of. Yet marketing and exposure can sometimes be the biggest challenges in an effort to earn an income.

LOCAL small business owners have expressed that they are encountering too many barriers when trying to capitalise on the international export market.

On Wednesday, which was the opening day of the 9th staging of the ‘Christmas in July’ trade show, a two-day event held at the AC Hotel Kingston, the Jamaica Observer spoke with a few of the participants who expressed that exporting has proved to be a challenging task.

“Exporting feels as though if you don’t know someone, it’s tough to get it done,” shared Carmen Hope-Thomas, CEO of Zipporah, a hair and skincare brand.

This special events aids in the ministry’s steadfast commitment to promoting the inclusion and success of small and medium tourism enterprises in the lucrative tourism value chain.

Speaking at the opening of the Christmas in July trade show event yesterday, the Minister noted that “The purpose of this showcasing is a fulfillment of government’s policy in relation to how we are building the capacity of our small and medium tourism enterprises and players to benefit from and tap into the lucrative and elongated tourism value chain.”

President of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), John Mahfood, says Jamaica can benefit from the availability of workers from other countries in the region, with the implementation of free movement within CARICOM.

Last week, regional Heads of Government agreed to implement free movement for CARICOM nationals by March next year, going beyond the current CARICOM Single Market and Economy regime of free movement for agreed categories of skilled nationals.

AT least one manufacturer is pleading for assistance to acquire land space to expand his factory operations.

“Right now I can safely say our growth is limited only by space,” said Earl Barry Martin, CEO of Island Products Manufacturing Limited.

During a tour of his factory, located along Ken Hill Drive in St Andrew, the company’s primary manufacturing plant, Martin explained that over the years, as the company grew, it had to find creative ways to make more space by rearranging equipment.