Listed company Paramount Trading Jamaica Ltd hopes to finalise a deal with some of Cuba’s largest manufacturing groups and companies.

The company, which is currently in partnership with Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Petroleum to build a $500-million oil-blending plant on Waltham Park Road in Kingston, also has its eyes on exporting products to the French-speaking Caribbean country Haiti.

In a series of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (Jampro)-organised tours recently, top representatives from Cuba’s largest manufacturing groups and companies – including Imeco, Quimimport, Coralsa and CubaSol – were hosted at Paramount’s plant on East Bell Road in Kingston.

Members of the delegation, including commercial attaché at the Cuban Embassy, Jorgé Sanchez, were also given a tour of the company’s Waltham Park Road lubricant facility set to open in September.

In a telephone interview with the Jamaica Observer yesterday, managing director of Paramount Trading, Hugh Graham, reckons that now is a good time for companies like Paramount and to a greater extent, Jamaica, to secure contracts with businesses in Cuba.

“The interesting thing about Cuba is that since they seem to be on the verge of opening up, we would want to get in there early because when they do open up, you will have the big companies from America that will come in. So I’m thinking that the first mover advantage would work well for us,” he said.

Graham noted that with volume demands three times that of Jamaica, signing off on supplier contracts with the Cuban manufacturers would be “icing on the cake” for the company.

Paramount currently operates five business units, including its chemical products arm which deals in food and industrial products, the distribution of SIKA-branded products, manufacturing of commercial cleaning agents, haulage services and lubricants business.

According to Graham, the delegates have shown particular interest in the Altra brand of lubricant for which the company has jointly partnered with Allegheny on producing.

“They displayed other interest in our baking soda from the food side of the business. We have a low sodium baking powder that works well with diabetics because the sodium content is lower than the regular baking powder,” he told the Caribbean Business Report.

In an effort to encourage relationships and business partnerships between Cuba and Jamaica, Jampro spearheaded another meeting with the companies yesterday aimed at determining the specific needs of each business.

Paramount anticipates fulfilling the demand of the Cuban manufacturers if it secures a contract, given the planned opening of its lubricant facility later this year. The managing director is also of the view that the company will be able to successfully compete against industry giants in both Cuba and Haiti, given the importation tax relief for local companies manufacturing goods on the island.

“The competitive advantage of manufacturers here in Jamaica is that you don’t pay the duties on the raw material that goes in manufacturing in the same way you pay the duties on the finished product.

“So this will certainly make us competitive as it relates to not having to pass that cost on to customers, which is almost 50 per cent duty,” he said.