JAMAICA may import five times more beverages than it exports, but businesses in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) community could exploit numerous opportunites in light manufacturing, especially in areas such as sauces, juices, jerk seasonings and smoked meats.

“We are in the perfect place at the perfect time. The demand is there and the figures show it. What are we waiting on? What are we waiting for?” asked Cliff Riley, executive director of the Scientific Research Council (SRC).

He was speaking to several small business owners at the SME Opportunity Quest forum at the SRC office on Old Hope Road in Kingston last Tuesday. Areas discussed included opportunities available in manufacturing, agro-processing and export.

“We are innovators; who are more innovative than Jamaicans? It’s time for us to use these marked advantages and create wealth… wealth creation for sustaining our country,” Riley said to participants.

The aim of Opportunity Quest was to highlight business trends and opportunities that currently exist in the Jamaican economy, and provide entrepreneurs and investors with the option of taking advantage of prime target markets and niche markets by penetrating the gaps that exist, according to Roselyn Fisher, general manager for SRC subsidiary company Marketech Limited.

Jamaica imported packaged beverages at a cost of US$55.2m (J$6.5 billion) in 2014 as against exports valued at US$9.3m (J$1.08 billion), Fisher said. Imports from the Caribbean, particularly Trinidad, account for J$4 billion. Similarly, the disparity was noted in the smoked meats market, where imports were valued at US$5.35 million (J$626 million), while exports were valued at US$1.02 million (J$119 million).

Despite the fact that Jamaica’s imports far outweigh its exports, the SRC is optimistic that this can be seen as an opportunity to meet local demand.

In a post-seminar interview with the Jamaica Observer, Riley commented: “We have the technology in Jamaica [and] we have a nice supply of meat, which means we can tap into our own market. If we boost the production of such materials and the take-up from our manufacturers, that would significantly reduce the importation bill or the demand for imported products.”

Mango and apple crops lost

“We lose 50 per cent of mangoes in the season, and 90 per cent of otaheite apples is thrown away. We can make the purees, the concentrates to make juices. We have the resources. We just need to move away from the idea of just distributing to manufacturing,” Riley argued, adding that Jamaicans need to convert waste into wealth.

The SRC can help “boost their (manufacturers) business, improve their competitiveness globally as well as their product sales and acceptance”, he said, moving from the idea stage to marketing (packaging and branding).

SRC also has an internationally accredited laboratory for food safety; developing consistency for taste, flavour and texture; and ensuring quality management to meet global standards. The lab conducts analytical testing services to satisfy Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements, good manufacturing practices, and Hazard Analysis and Critical Points (HAACP) standards, Fisher said in her presentation.

“So we want to give a good idea of what we offer here at SRC in terms of expertise,” Riley said, adding, “We know science, [but] we [also] know business… We are here to drive business development.” But while large companies such as GraceKennedy and Jamaica Producers know about the scientific, technological and business approach used by SRC, the MSME community may not be so familiar, especially the business development and product development expertise that is available through Marketech Limited, Riley said. “We have an incubator system so the MSMEs can use the facilities.”

Juices and jerk

MSMEs can also capitalise on their ability to “develop novel products”, Fisher said. With heightened sensitivity to the promotion of healthy lifestyles, local manufacturers can take advantage of natural fruit juices and herbal teas in the beverage market — while the uniqueness of traditional Jamaican jerk can be properly positioned to penetrate the smoked meat products market.

The two main factors hindering businesses from becoming manufacturers are venture capital and planning, Riley said.

Marketech is “trying to address the matter by partnering with FGB (First Global Bank) and DBJ (Development Bank of Jamaica)” to finance start-up entities, Riley said. “So we are working through Marketech to actually build relationships with the financial entities just to make sure we have a level of commitment.”

But businesses must make sure they have a valid business plan. “A lot of entrepreneurs in Jamaica do not plan; they are not looking at [making] the actual profits; they are looking at income. At the end of the day you can collect less than what you invested. That is how we want our Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to think; think about your product, services and business; treat it as a business. That is how you generate wealth. Through the creativity of Jamaicans, we can overcome challenges, find solutions and take advantage of opportunities,” Riley stressed.