The call for export-led growth was made yesterday at the resource mobilisation meeting and presentation of the National Export Strategy (NES), held at the Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI).

Michael Lumsden, president of the Jamaica Exporters’ Association, in his address to the gathering of industry executives, diplomats, donor representatives and media, argued that Jamaica can no longer rely on traditional exports, such as bauxite, bananas, and sugar, to spur growth and identified the NES as a ‘rallying point’ to “provide Jamaica a focal point” for action.

“It is a reason for us to confidently engage our international partners to align our interests as the new world economy emerges from this global economic crisis,” Lumsden said.

In the initial five years, the NES aims to contribute to the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by increasing the exports sector’s contribution to GDP from one-fifth to one-third, with the aim of making Jamaica “a leading per capita export country known for its commitment to creativity, innovation and exceptional quality.” Other key outcomes are to increase the export sector’s contribution to overall employment generation and to achieve greater diversification of the export sector.

Dr Pauline Knight, director general of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), noted that the “potential to spur growth by export has been largely untapped”.

“Accelerating growth, should be seen as the central development challenge facing Jamaica at this time,” Dr Knight said.

Dr Knight pointed to statistics that indicated the need for more diversification of Jamaica’s exports. In 2008 export of goods and services totalled US$5.6 bill ($411 billion) or 40.4 per cent of Jamaica’s GDP. This increased from US$2.1 billion ($199.4 billion) or 36.7 per cent of GDP in 2003.

“Goods exports accounted for approximately 51.5 per cent of total exports from Jamaica in 2008, increasing from 39.3 per cent in 2003. Of total goods exports in 2008, crude materials, including bauxite and alumina and chemicals, accounted for 51.4 per cent and 16.6 per cent respectively,” Dr Knight stated. “Together therefore, they represent two thirds of our exports.”

Export of services, driven mainly by tourism accounted for 71.4 per cent of service inflows. In the first half of 2009, world trade declined by 32.4 per cent, trade in Jamaica’s products have fallen 51.3 per cent.

“The country’s narrow export base is currently challenged by the effects of the global economic recession on Jamaica’s main export industry,” Dr Knight noted.

Patricia Francis, executive director of the International Trade Centre, which provides technical assistance on the NES project, also noted that within the context of an overall decline in world trade and the demand for Jamaica’s primary exports, diversification is crucial.

“We know that if we ask 100 people what should be done to stimulate exports and move development and competitiveness, we would get 100 different answers,” Francis said. “Probably those 100 different answers would be correct. But where do we start?” “Do we move in the 100 different directions? And would we achieve the desired results?”

The move, as defined by the NES and the ITC, will be focussed on areas such as agro processing, coffee, aquaculture, fashion and minerals, and on services, including education, entertainment and information communication technologies, including the use of mobile telephony to transmit information immediately from producers to the market.

During the strategy development a number of food products and enterprise groups were identified as having immediate potential for increasing value added or additional sales to new buyers and to increasing exports. The focus as outlined by Francis, will be on areas that include products such as ackee, mango puree and nectar, tomato puree and ketchup, carrot juice, jerk sausages and jerk seasoning, pepper mash and crushed escallions.

“The current global economic environment, plus the erosion of trade preferences, therefore point to the urgent need of a partnership between the Government and private investors as posited in the export strategy,” Francis said.

That partnership has already began with the involvement of the minister of industry, Investment and Commerce, the Hon Karl Samuda, who at yesterday’s meeting challenged the private sector to “seek, not only new markets but new products. Contemporary economics and the problems that the world faces today demand of us that we think in a different way, that we look at possibilities that we never would have looked at before,” he said.

“This nation has been too complacent. We have been too complacent because we have become too dependent on what we thought could never be attacked, what we thought made us impregnable in terms of a minimum inflow of foreign exchange,” Samuda said. “We have been dependent on mining, it is inconceivable that Kirkvine could ever close, inconceivable that Ewarton could ever close. How could that be? Never. But they have.”

He said that Jamaica’s traditional exports from sectors such as mining and tourism, account for almost 60 percent of total exports. “Of that 60 per cent, 90 per cent of that is accounted for by mining. Now that is a very precarious position to find yourself in,” Samuda said.

The Minister pointed to other non-traditional targets such as entertainment and education as key in the growth process. “So we now must seek to diversify, expand on the services sector, the entertainment sector. But entertainment in and of itself is not going to reap the benefits if the environment that we create domestically is not conducive to having the entertainers return with their money,” Samuda noted. “It’s no point boasting about the fact that one entertainer earns more than the entire banana exports, when 95 per cent of what he earns doesn’t come back.”

Education, seen as a point from which Jamaica can attract Foreign Direct Investment was also identified as another key focus of the NES and the government. “There should be serious consideration given to creating a tax credit mechanism that would be given to those private sector companies that are engaged in training,” Samuda said. “Because at the bottom line, without a trained workforce you cannot attract foreign direct investment. Nobody would want to come to a country where the workforce is deficient. We have a good workforce but it is not up to the level that we can expect to demand attention because of its efficiency.”

The NES, one of the key outcomes of the Vision 2030 plan, is aimed specifically at the business aspect of the Vision. The NES, Dr Knight noted would help to “stimulate private sector investment and correct structural deficiencies which make export difficult”. The PIOJ, which along with the Jamaica Maufacturers’ Association is a partner of the NES, will help to identify development assistance to enable the implementation of the Strategy.