By Rochelle Williams
KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – Local agro-processors and food and beverage manufacturers are being encouraged to explore the many prospects for exporting Jamaican food products.
“We continue to see demand for ready-to-eat products, not just from our Diaspora members, but also from mainstream consumers,” said agri-business exports acting manager, Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Shanique Edwards. “Export offers significant opportunities for local companies in agro-processing, and we can see how crucial it is to boosting the growth of the Jamaican economy,” Edwards added, addressing JAMPRO’s ‘Charting the Route to Success: Developing for Export’ webinar on Thursday (February 22).
With over US$256 million in food export sales at the end of August 2023, Edwards said there is further opportunity to tap into the high demand for items such as canned ackee, breadfruit, mango, yam, cassava and sweet potato.
Export opportunities also exist for turmeric, ginger, scotch bonnet pepper, pimento, pepper mash/flakes, herbs and spices and other value-added products.
Edwards said there is a great market for beverages, sauces and marinades, adding that baked goods, jams and jellies are also lucrative, with high demand from overseas Jamaicans.
“The Diaspora represents a sizable market base of over 1.1 million members in the United States (US), over 800,000 in the United Kingdom (UK), and more than 309,000 Diaspora members in Canada. You can also consider targetting sub-markets that are aligned [to the tourism industry] in some cities in these countries,” Edwards advised manufacturers looking to enter the export market to ensure adherence to international labelling standards and make use of automation and blockchain technology.
Automated systems can be applied to various stages of the food manufacturing process, including raw material handling, processing, packaging and labelling and storage, to increase productivity, reduce costs, and enhance safety and quality standards.
“Our competitors are using more automation and robotics to ensure competitiveness in terms of capacity, scalability, and the pricing of products. This means that our macro processes will need to incorporate automation at some point in time to be competitive,” Edwards contended.
She further encouraged persons to explore innovative opportunities to control production costs without compromising on quality, to counter high food prices.
“While nominal spending has increased, the real spending has actually been declining as consumers are becoming more price sensitive,” Edwards further said, changes in consumption patterns have seen a decline in demand for high calorie and high fat and sugary foods, and urged manufacturers to tailor production with these considerations in mind.
Representatives from several stakeholder agencies, including the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ), Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), and the Scientific Research Council (SRC), participated in the webinar.