Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) President Metry Seaga on Wednesday dismissed the notion that Jamaica is a sample market, pointing to areas in which Jamaica businesses have built their capacity to export in large volumes on demand.

The PSOJ president was addressing a query raised during the question and answer session of the media launch for the Keys to LATAM Conference, which will be held on September 7 in the Corporate Area.

The term sample market refers to an economy in which goods are sold in small quantities.

“So are we a country of samples? I think it’s a cute thing to say but it’s not true,” Seaga asserted.

“Of course, if you go to a little man that have a shop on di side of the road, him can’t supply 40 containers to you, but there are factories out there that have developed the raw material guidelines, the equipment [and] the machinery that can do volumes. But we have to start at home,” he continued.

One of those industries he identified was the bedding and furniture manufacturing industry which has a number of players actively engaed in export.

Seaga argued further that shaking off the label would require some strategy, including changing local procurement policies to focus on buying locally.

He added: “We have to identify the areas that we have built capacity and identify the things that we can be competitive in internationally.”

The PSOJ president said that under his leadership the business advocacy organisation will continue to champion two core areas — positioning Jamaica as a logistics-centred economy and promoting Jamaica as an export-driven market.

While pointing to the export figures from 2021 which stood at US$4.04 billion, representing 27.6 per cent of Jamaica’s gross domestic product, Seaga lamented, “This is woefully inadequate if we are to move the country’s economy forward.”

On this note, he said that the Keys to LATAM Conference will explore the opportunities in the Latin American region that Jamaican companies can tap into. Organised by digital marketing company AdIntelligent, the conference will be co-sponsored by the PSOJ and Panama-based carrier Copa Airlines.

According to AdIntelligent CEO Criag Powe, the conference will provide Jamaican businesses with insights and strategies to enter and succeed in the Latin American market.

“We believe that the Latin American market offers immense untapped potential for Jamaican products and services… By attending this conference businesses will gain a deep understanding of the LATAM market and the tools to make informed decisions about exporting to this region,” he said.

Among the tools he listed were Caribbean Community agreements with Cuba, Colombia (Baranquilla), Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. Powe also said that artificial intelligence would also be a game-changer in accessing Latin American markets — a topic that will be explored at the conference.

Just last year the Inter-American Development Bank estimated that the Latin American and Caribbean region could add US$78 billion in exports through nearshoring trading. The bank at the time highlighted opportunities in industries such as auto, textile, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy.

Though there are no studies indicating the potential gains from Jamaican businesses engaging in nearshoring, Seaga emphasised for enterprises to look beyond the country’s shores.

“If we don’t start to look outwards our numbers are going to continue being paltry, our growth is going to be anaemic as it has been,” he said, noting that Jamaica’s GD for the last decade has been on average 0.8 per cent compares to almost three per cent in other Caribbean countries.

In this regard, he made a case for value-added exports

“I’m not interested in us becoming embroiled in a race to the bottom. I don’t want us to sell bauxite and sugar and coffee. What I want us to do is keep those products and add value to it,” the PSOJ head pleaded.

“For too long our colonial masters have taken our raw materials away from us, taken it to their countries, added value to it, industrialised and became rich countries. Then they brought it back to us and taught us how to like it, and for that we have become poorer. So the time has come now for us to improve and step up the value-added chain,” he concluded.