CONTACT Magazine (Vol.18 No.3 – December 2018)

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looking outwards Major Trinidad and Tobago non-energy companies exporting to CARICOM Over US$20 million per year SM Jaleel WITCO Associated Brands Industries Trinidad Cement Nestlé Caribbean Trinidad Distillers Electrical Industries Group Caribbean Development Company Holiday Snacks Between US$10 million and US$20 million per year Angostura Bermudez Biscuits Baker Hughes Grand Bay Paper Products Trinidad Tissues Universal Foods Carib Glassworks John Dickinson Between US$5 million and US$10 million* VEMCO IAL Engineering Unilever Advance Foam NFM Century Eslon Chief Brand Products * There are about 50 firms in this category in total. “We are now the number one exporter into Cuba from the Caribbean and Latin America” ExporTT (in its prior incarnation as the Business Development Company) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry have had a trade facilitation office in Cuba for over ten years. We are now the number one exporter into Cuba from the Caribbean and Latin America. That’s impressive. DG: In fact Carib Glass has just shipped their first major shipment of glass bottles for the largest local rum producer in Cuba. Carib beer has signed a distribution agreement with the largest liquor company in Cuba to supply the finished beer product to the market. Angostura has well over 10,000 points of sale on the island, working closely with exporTT trade facilitation. Sacha Cosmetics is a major exporter to Cuba. Trinidad Tissues and Grand Bay Paper and Care Products (makers of tissue paper and tissue paper pulp) are major suppliers into Cuba. It has been a bit of a wait, an over 10-year investment, but we are seeing tremendous growth in the Cuban market. What about exporting to the diaspora? DG: There is a high demand for local products in our diaspora <strong>–</strong> New York, London, Toronto and Miami. Caribbean products are growing in prominence, and while Jamaica has been able to benefit immensely from this, we have been a bit lagging. But we are targeting the diaspora market. In November we will be in Canada on a trade mission. Targeting the importers who service the diaspora market will be a major focus for us. Earlier this year, during the Trade and Investment Convention (TIC), exporTT was responsible for bringing international buyers. We brought in the purchasing manager for the GraceKennedy Group from Canada. GraceKennedy is well-established, not only in the diaspora market in North America, but they have grown and are in the mainstream distribution sector. 18 Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce www.chamber.org.tt/contact-magazine
Export House, head office of exporTT, on Charlotte Street, Port of Spain courtesy exportt He met with the major local suppliers to discuss utilising GraceKennedy’s distribution channel. We had very fruitful meetings and hopefully we will see some traction in increasing our exports to the diaspora in North America. Sounds like progress is being made. What of the challenges? DG: The challenges are well-known <strong>–</strong> crime, the productivity and availability of labour, the lack of foreign exchange to invest in new or expand existing business. Companies are not happy with the pace at which they receive their VAT (value added tax) refunds. Many of them use it as the liquidity to run their business. The government understands the problems and they are working on them. The Ministry of Trade and Industry is working very hard to improve the ease of doing business, getting businesses up and running, getting all the approvals much more easily. And on a personal level, how do you deal with the challenges? What motivates you? DG: I’ve always liked the export arena. My first job, straight out of university, was travelling up and down the islands selling construction material for a local company. I just reached a point in my life and maturity where I wanted to use my experience to help in nation-building, and give back to the manufacturing and export sector that has been good to me. When the position became available I felt it was an ideal fit with my practical export experience to bring that understanding to the public sector. Is there anything you would like to tell potential exporters? DG: Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid to go out there. What holds back a lot of business people is the fear of the unknown. ExporTT is here to demystify your business expansion aspirations. We are very open. We are very responsive. We are here to help. Special resources for companies • “The Ministry of Trade and exporTT have a fund of TT$25 million whereby we assist small and medium-sized manufacturers to purchase plant and equipment. This is a grant. You don’t have to pay it back. You must satisfy the requirement that you are able to increase your exports or prove that you are having an impact on import substitution. You are eligible for this grant up to $250,000. It is a matching grant, meaning it will pay the supplier half of the cost for the equipment up to that amount.” • “Companies can also access a research and development grant of up to a million dollars per company. The grant includes concept development for an innovative product or service, commercialisation of the product, and assistance in marketing the new product.” • “ExporTT doesn’t only deal with exporters. We even have an entrepreneurship programme for people who are now starting up, moving them along the developmental process to one day becoming exporters. We have a cohort now in Tobago of about 12 indigenous manufacturers who in some instances are not even exporting to Trinidad. We are training them in marketing, labelling, finance and business planning.” www.chamber.org.tt/contact-magazine 19 Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce
Page 1 and 2: Vol.18 No.3 - December 2018 The Voi
Page 6 and 7: Vol.18 No.3 - December 2018 Content
Page 9 and 10: A note from the editor Exports play
Page 11 and 12: Jaleel Beverages were followed by a
Page 13 and 14: vertical integration by buying frui
Page 15 and 16: Residential Lots and Townhouses for
Page 17 and 18: “For the first time the macroecon
Page 19: www.chamber.org.tt/contact-magazine
Page 23 and 24: Travel mania/shutterstock.com In th
Page 26 and 27: looking outwards Breaking into Euro
Page 28 and 29: looking outwards EU-Caribbean: trad
Page 30: looking outwards Who do we have tra
Page 34: www.chamber.org.tt/contact-magazine
Page 37 and 38: attempts to register product under
Page 39 and 40: Organisation Location Contact Funct
Page 41 and 42: Private sector agencies Organisatio
Page 43 and 44: courtesy tobago cocoa estates Tobag
Page 45 and 46: Trinidad Tissues: use the trade sup
Page 47 and 48: Lake Asphalt of Trinidad and Tobago
Page 49 and 50: Trinidad and Tobago: expenditure 20
Page 51 and 52: Contact Magazine Energy Statistics
Page 53: Contact Contact Issue Issue 2 cover

CONTACT Magazine (Vol.18 No.3 – December 2018)

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