Coosal's group executive director elected new manufacturers association president

EXECUTIVE director of finance and administration at the Coosal's Group of Companies Tricia Coosal has been elected as the 65th president of the TT Manufacturers Association (TTMA), replacing Franka Costelloe who spent two years at the helm.

Coosal is now the third woman and the 65th person elected since the organisation was established in 1956.

She served as a director for four years before she was elected at the TTMA's annual general meeting, held at Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain prior to its annual business breakfast.

Coosal, in her inaugural address, relayed a number of initiatives planned by the TTMA for the year, one of which is to continue holding discussions with supermarkets to promote high quality local products as a substitute for imported goods.

She vowed to create an "enabling environment" for manufacturers, saying, "This allows for trade to prosper and grow, our manufacturing industry to expand and operate in a less than optimal environment, for the non-energy sector to realise its potential to expand exports and to assist in the diversification policies of the government."

Coosal congratulated and thanked Costelloe for the advances made at the association during her tenure, and promised to work closely with Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon and the government to improve the ease of doing business while outlining anticipated challenges such as illicit trade and port issues.

"Minister, I give you the assurance today that I would use my time and office as the president of the TTMA to vehemently pursue those tries initiatives and bring to bear other diplomatic efforts to move and resolve issues. I plan to sit with you, work with you and partner with you to find solutions to remove the painstaking hindrances of the ease of doing business in TT. I have heard you speak on many occasions, minister, and I know your passion lies with moving the needle in the right direction for the business community."

Coosal also encouraged association's members to "take advantage of the networking opportunities the TTMA has created in the first quarter of 2021 for some members to engage with large supermarket chains in the country, and by extension the region, to substitute foreign goods with locally produced goods," highlighting PriceSmart as one of chains engaged so far.

With regard to the non-energy manufacturing sector, Coosal said she expects export figures to reflect those of 2019, reaching $3.6, "in the not so distant future."

The TTMA, she added, has employed the services of consultant Joel "Monty" Pemberton who is tasked with doubling TT's exports by the end of 2025.

"Firstly, though, his priority is to move exports from the year-end 2020 figure of $2.3 billion to $2.8 billion by the end of 2021.

"We highly expect that by December, 2021, when reporting on the export strategy initiative, I can proudly stand before you and say that our efforts and that of our consultant and that of the Ministry of Trade and ExportTT have borne fruit and we have surpassed our projection of exports growth of $3.8 billion for 2021."