JAMAICA will receive euro 2.25 million ($269.2 million) from the European Union (EU) aimed at increasing the nation’s capacity for product testing and boosting export competitiveness.
Government signed off on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Capacity-Building Project yesterday at the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) office in Kingston. The overall objective of the project is to facilitate increased and more diversified exports of agricultural and agri-processed products.
Seven public sector laboratories will benefit from the EPA Capacity Building Project — the BSJ’s chemistry and microbiology labs, the Pesticides Research Laboratory at the University of the West Indies, and four labs at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The labs will benefit from procurement of labarotory equipment and consumables, training and certification.
Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Anthony Hylton said the project will importantly enhance Jamaica’s food security.
“Food security and export competitiveness are inextricably linked and are the cornerstones of global competitiveness, which can only be achieved within the capacity of quality infrastructure,” said Hylton.
It is a timely investment as the nation’s exporters face a battle against time to comply with new US food safety standards under its Food Safety Modernisation Act. What’s more is that Jamaica and CARIFORUM (Caricom and the Dominican Republic), five years ago, signed the historic EPA with the EU which liberalised Europe’s markets for the region’s exports in goods and services. The EPA Capacity-Building Project was specifically designed to help Jamaica with accessing European markets.
“The EPA’s rationale is to help create a turning point where trade spurs growth and development,” said Paola Amadei, head of delegation of the European Union to Jamaica.
“The EPA aims at putting the Caribbean on the map as an expanding market where locals and outsiders will find opportunities for growth and security for their investments,” she said.
Minister of Finance Dr Peter Phillips said building export capacity and taking advantage of overseas markets is a key element of the nation’s growth strategy.
“This programme comes at a particularly important time for Jamaica, especially given the current fiscal and developmental challenges which we face at this time,” he said.
