Executive Director of the European Union-funded Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) Pamela Coke-Hamilton says the body is backing exports to contribute meaningfully to sustaining the economies of the region at a time when marginal economic growth would appear to be on the horizon.
“At this period in our region’s history, where economic growth is projected to be marginal for 2015, Caribbean Export believes in the power that exporters have to contribute to sustainable growth,” Coke-Hamilton told an audience in Barbados at an event held to mark Caribbean Export’s inaugural ‘Caribbean Exporter of the Year Awards’ in recognition of the contributions made by the region’s exporters.
At the ceremony, Coke-Hamilton announced that in 2013 total Cariforum exports were estimated to be US$51 billion, with the average contribution of exports to GDP being 17% for goods and 36% for services.
“Now is the time to support our exporters and assist them to expand further, because in so doing, we are not only helping a firm increase its bottom line, but moreover we are impacting the economic well-being of our entire region and our people,” Coke-Hamilton said.
Caribbean Export’s launch of the Caribbean Exporter of the Year Awards is supported by the European Union as part of the 10th EDF Regional Private Sector Development Programme. The agency said the awards seek “to foster and strengthen a greater export culture throughout the Caribbean by giving significant recognition to the winners and sending a strong message to current and potential buyers, investors or other stakeholders that these exporters are market leaders and successful business persons.”
At the ceremony, Charge d’Affaires of the Delegation of the EU to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Silvia Kofler challenged the regional private sector to use the initiative and to capitalise on possibilities for export.
Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries have been slow to respond to appeals to reduce the region’s multi-million-dollar food import bill and to reverse the trend by undertaking initiatives designed to secure greater access to North American and European markets. Among the challenges confronting the regional export sector are those associated with reaching the compliance standards enshrined in the United States’ Food Safety Modernization Act and other stringent North American legislation that speak to the importation of foods. The high costs of packaging, labelling and other product-promotion elements associated with securing and/or expanding markets in North America are also among the difficulties faced.
The six awards which would be handed over under the Caribbean Export programme are: Emerging Exporter of the Year; Young Exporter of the Year; Female Exporter of the Year; Green Exporter of the Year; Caribbean Exporter of the Year and a Special Award for Excellence in Services Exports.
Full details on how to enter and the nomination process can be found on the agency’s website and can also be secured from local business support organisations.
