Penetration of foreign markets critical for survival

Two very encouraging reports on the efforts of export-oriented local manufacturing companies appeared in the Sunday Guardian Business section.

Both of the quite in-depth reports dealt with the challenges attendant to expanding the base of the T&T economy, with a focus on adding to the foreign exchange earned by non-energy manufacturing.

Chairman of Associated Brands Industries Limited, Nicholas Lok Jack makes the initial point that exporting to the big wide world may sound “sexy”, but it’s a difficult road to follow.

“It requires travelling all over to different places where you don’t know the geographies and the language.” But he says the company is “feeling good that we (the ABIL) are contributing better to the economy because we are selling foreign exchange back.”

He notes that the company’s foreign sales amount to approximately 67 per cent of its earnings. The challenge, according to Lok Jack, is for the country to take “a long-term view and make sure that our exporters are well facilitated.” He also mentions tourism as an industry that can be encouraged.

The Sunday Guardian story lists figures from the Ministry of Trade that non-oil manufacturing has earned 90 per cent of total non-energy exports between 2019 and 2023. In the other Business Guardian story on exports, the focus is on products that are built around indigenous flavours that attract great attention from the T&T and Caribbean Diaspora markets in North America and Europe.

It is very encouraging to hear and see stories that depict a measure of success for export manufacturing and that there are manufacturers who are seeking out possibilities for export to new markets in South America.

“We have lots of products that would complement that market that will be spices that would be in the dry line and hot sauces,” and the dark chocolate and chocolate bars which are now exported from here, said Deosaran Jagroo and Cherie Ann Ramlakhan of Kairi Chocolate, who participated in the recent Fit 4 Europe 11 Programme.

These are the kinds of efforts needed to spread the base of the industrial and manufacturing economy, with producers here taking on the challenges as articulated in the feature stories in the Business Guardian. But it’s surely not going to be an easily accomplished feat.

Franka Costello, chair of the T&T Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, noted two major challenges to local companies seeking to export. One, the lack of market intelligence and the real difficulty in meeting international standards. In the instance of the first challenge, there has been talk and some action over the decades about outfitting T&T’s foreign embassies to provide local producers with market intelligence.

Regarding the meeting of international standards, agencies here such as the Bureau of Standards have the responsibility to look after the upgrading of standards in manufacturing for export.

Of course, those are real challenges to enter quality markets, which, in certain instances, such as the export standards, are in reality non-tariff barriers that really serve as “protection” for the industrial world.

The international markets with agencies such as the World Trade Organization, which set standards to be met by exporters, are not designed to favour small-country manufacturers.

T&T manufacturers and the Government have to work at developing support agencies and programmes for local export manufacturers.

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