The Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) has embarked on a trade mission to The Bahamas prospecting for business.

The Bahamas is hosting five JMEA member companies with the goal of increasing trade in the Caribbean, namely FosRich Company; Spur Tree Spices; Dynamic Chemicals, Jamaica Broilers and Thomovybes Manufacturers and Distributors Company.

The launch of the trade mission took place on October 10 at The Bahamas’ Small Business Development Centre (SBDC). In addition to the Jamaican team, the launch was attended by Ambassador Winston Pinnock, representative of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Khrystle Rutherford-Ferguson, chair of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce; Brickell Pinder, director of trade in Ministry of Economic Affairs of The Bahamas; SBDC executive director Samantha Rolle; and chairman of the Bahamas Trade Commission, Philip Galanis.

The Jamaican trade mission follows a similar one in March this year when representatives from the SBDC, The Bahamas Trade Commission and The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce sent a trade and business fact-finding mission to Jamaica with the goal of increasing trade throughout the Caribbean.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, deputy chairman of the Bahamas Trade Commission, Senator Barry Griffin highlighted that, “after our successful fact-finding mission, discussions continued and it was decided that Jamaican exporters wished to see what opportunities lie in The Bahamas for bilateral trade.” During that meeting the Bahamian team met with the personnel at Jamaica Business Development Centre, Jampro, and the JMEA 

According to Senator Griffin, “we have worked vigorously over the last few months to make this initiative possible. Two weeks ago, we hosted a virtual doing business in The Bahamas session, where Jamaican companies were able to learn more about the legal regulatory customs tariffs and general business regimes here in The Bahamas. We have reached out to the private sector here in the country to set up meetings for the companies present here today and we anticipate a very successful fact-finding mission for the JMEA companies.”

For his part, treasurer and head of the 2023 JMEA mission, Robert Scott echoed that growth and prosperity in the region will come from trading with each other noting that, “every time we export a primary product to the USA or elsewhere in the world, wealth is created there; jobs are created there from working on our materials.  Any value added is there.”

Continuing, Scott added, “when we import a product from the USA or elsewhere, the value added is also given to that country.  They get the income and they get the wealth,” emphasising that the companies represented at the mission were in industries that Bahamian partners thought would be useful to this country.

He expressed the hope that Bahamian companies will undertake a similar mission to Jamaica and this mission will serve as a template for missions to countries throughout the region.