International Trade Ministry organises one-day manufacturers’ symposium for tomorrow
THE MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INDUSTRY, COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS HAS ORGANISED A ONE-DAY SYMPOSIUM FOR LOCAL MANUFACTURERS in St Kitts that will be held at the Cuna Caribbean Conference Centre, Fortlands, Basseterre, tomorrow Wednesday.
The government-sponsored event to be held under the theme, ‘Opportunities for Business Growth through Better Supply-Chain Management’ will give participants insight into the world of contemporary regional and global business operations.
Coordinator for Trade and Business Development within the Ministry of International Trade, Irvine Daniel, who spoke exclusively to www.sknnewssource.com, said tomorrow’s programme is expected to attract some 40 participants, mostly small manufacturers and agro-processors who will be exposed to a wide range of issues including resources and procedures in procurement; and shipping and landing of imports with the overall goal of increasing their competitiveness.
“We did some work with the Caribbean Export Development Agency last year when we found that many of the businesses were having a hard time sourcing input… which meant that their products were not competitive in the local market and by extension they would not be able to be competitive in the export market,” Daniel he revealed.
He disclosed that to better assist the businesses, they designed a symposium that will help them to better source their inputs at more competitive rates.
Daniel pointed out that “The symposium is fixed into three sections, with three panel discussions: The first panel is dubbed, “Sustainable Procurement to Enhance Competitiveness”.
“It will cover resources and tools for sourcing products and services including considerations of cost, lead time, quality, quantity, and social and environmental issues. Panellists will include the Caribbean Export Development Agency, St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards and international private sector procurement specialist. This discussion, inclusive of an audience question and answer segment, is scheduled from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM.
“We are hoping that with the combination of these guests that the local entrepreneurs, the local market will get a better sense of where to source items internationally; how to negotiate with international suppliers; and what other considerations should be made bearing in mind that GEP Worldwide is a company that works with Fortune 500 brands such as NIKE and Walmart,” Daniel explain(ed).
Admitting that while they didn’t start off planning for it to be a mega symposium, Daniel noted that the expectations and anticipation of other participants and organisers are high. He said that they recognise the depth of ‘marriage’ that was lacking in the local market. As such, the symposium is expected to generate the level of knowledge and information greatly needed. He noted that it will help to better educate manufacturers.
He said Wednesday’s one-day event will be made available for those persons and others via zoom, as the ministry recognises its importance and urgency, and intends to ensure that all can benefit in a significant way. He said too, that because of the overwhelming response, it will be streamed live.
“We are hoping to equip our small manufacturers, our agro-processors to better compete in the global market. We realise that if your inputs are not competitive your end products can never be competitive. So, especially after COVID, we saw a rise in the cost of imports for local agro-processors. We currently have many agro-processors that experience bottlenecks right now because they are not able to access containers to package things like hot sauce and green seasoning and honey While they have the materials, they do not have the packaging (materials). When we consulted with Caribbean export, for example, we recognise that it was not just a local problem but a regional problem,” he explained.
He stressed that managing the cost of inputs through the techniques that will be shared, will allow more competitive prices for the end product (output).
He disclosed that the second panel discussion themed, “Shipping Options and Challenges” will discuss options and considerations for commercial-grade shipping as an alternative to consumer shipping.
Considerations will include modes of shipment; allowable and non-allowable items; and logistics planning to help reduce cost and increase reliability. Panelists will include shipping companies and brokers. This discussion, inclusive of an audience question and answer segment, is scheduled from 11:15 AM to 12:45 PM.
The final panel discussion is themed, “Landing procedures and Processes” and will educate attendees on port procedures; taxes, and incentives.
The impact of Caricom and other treaties on taxes will also be discussed.
Panelists will be drawn from come from the public sector and include the Customs Department, the Department of International Trade, and the Department of Industry & Commerce. This discussion, inclusive of an audience question and answer segment, is scheduled from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM.
Permanent Secretary, Ms. Jasmine Weeks will give opening remarks, while Director of Industry and Commerce, Ms. Deidre Daniel-France, is slated to give closing statements
