Dear Editor,

We are manufacturers who have started an active business in Jamaica but are faced with some major problems. Our company, Island Breeze Ltd, is located in Kingston. We are returning residents who listened to a speech by a prominent MP in South Florida, who encouraged Jamaicans to return home to help build Jamaica by doing business here.

We totally agreed, and still do, that investing in Jamaica is the right thing to do.

Island Breeze Ltd manufactures excellent fruit juices in very attractive bottles, pouches (with spout) for kids — which have been very well received in the downtown market — flavoured cranberry water, sorrel drink, cranberry juice, flavoured drinks and syrups.

Our products do not have to be refrigerated and our prices are much lower than our imported competitors’ goods.

However, we are facing an uphill battle in getting our products on the supermarket shelves. We are being told that there are no shelf spaces for new goods, yet whenever there is a new product from overseas it is there on the shelves.

We got into a few supermarkets only because of connections to the purchaser. In early November we were trying to get our goods into one major supermarket in Kingston, but were told that we should come back in January. In effect, we were told to come back after consumers have done their shopping for the holidays.

We were mostly turned away because the shelves were constantly filled with foreign goods, of course. Sadly, our staff went home without a bonus and without work for two weeks in the Christmas holidays.

It is sad for us local manufacturers to sit back and watch our overseas competitors getting the edge over us in our own country.

Island Breeze wishes that the Government or the respective bodies will step up to the plate and give some sort of incentives to supermarkets to buy local goods, or do something for us as manufacturers. We are in no way advocating that the supermarkets stop selling imported goods. We are saying that they should support us more, providing we have excellent products.

We, however, realise that the last word and the power are in the hands of the consumer. We all know that Jamaica produces the best of everything. Our beaches, athletes, beauties, music, people, produce, water, students. Why is it, then, that the imported products do better among our people than the ones produced here?

We ask of you fellow Jamaicans to become very aware of what goes on in our country. Support local manufacturers by purchasing locally made and grown goods from your supermarkets and stores; this is our only way forward.

Rosemarie Malcolm

Island Breeze Ltd

rmalcolm@islandbreezesplash.com