Gopee-Scoon: Government, manufacturers association on target for export goals

Programmes such as the Export Booster Initiative (EBI), with collaboration between ExporTT, the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, will go a long way towards achieving double the country's non-energy exports by 2025.

Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, speaking at the TTMA's annual breakfast meeting at Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, on Wednesday, elaborated on the $50 million investment approved by Cabinet last month, saying all hands are on deck to achieve the ambitious goal.

The EBI started operating this month with the promotion of a certification programme for food and beverage standards.

"(This investment) in our manufacturing sector seeks to build capacity in local firms and prepare them to meet and exceed international health, safety and quality standards in order to access new and differentiated export markets," Gopee-Scoon said.

To achieve the target of double exports, 16 initiatives under three broad strategic areas will be pursued, she said, namely export promotion, capacity building and institutional strengthening.

The EBI will provide financial assistance to the manufacturing sector, including agro-processing, to meet a range of applicable international standards which the minister said will boost production of non-energy exports and contribute to import substitution.

"It is to be noted that many of the initiatives and targets of the EBI align with the TTMA’s manufacturing export strategy, including the doubling of key non-energy exports by 2025," said Gopee-Scoon.

She said the ministry, through exporTT, will work with the TTMA to ensure that manufacturers take full advantage of the programme.

She said, "Beyond the challenges (surrounding covid19) manufacturers today face not just a global pandemic but a whole host of factors that are forcing them to pivot; from geopolitical uncertainty, climate change, regulatory changes in export markets, and to changing consumer trends driven by technological innovation."

Gopee-Scoon expressed optimism about exports, saying TT is still the largest and one of the more resilient and competitive bases for manufacturing in the Caribbean.

"The manufacturing sector in Trinidad and Tobago remains an important and dynamic sector in the economy," she said, "and is a catalyst for achieving economic transformation and diversification through the reduction of the country’s food import bill, generation of foreign exchange via exports, and the provision of sustainable employment for over 50,000 persons."

Government, she said, heard the cries of the private sector and has acted by "providing access to critical foreign exchange as well as settling long outstanding VAT rebates and Income tax refunds."

The ministry's portfolio of transformative ideas, she said, are "well formulated in the National Roadmap for Recovery."

The key areas include improving the ease of doing business, improving the production capacity and promoting new and niche products, expanding export growth to traditional and non-traditional markets; and incentives for market and product development.

At the breakfast meeting, Gopee-Scoon praised outgoing TTMA president Franka Costelloe, who she said demonstrated great leadership, and welcomed newly elected president Tricia Coosal, who will serve for at least one year.