tidings
File photo: Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon
Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon says there must be newer products from manufacturers to export.
On Friday at the TT Manufacturing Association (TTMA) Trade and Investment Conference (TIC), Center of Excellence, Macoya, she said that while companies need to increase production to ship more, finding new products will help with this.
She gestured to the shelf behind her, which displayed many local products such as paper straws and pumpkin pancake mix, all made locally.
“It’s really nice to see the very innovative products we’ve come up with, so this is good especially at the end of the agricultural show where many of our local producers were also exhibiting. In other words, from that exhibition, we need to adjust primary production, but also packaging, processing, production, towards the value chain in the opposite way, in order to export from private production to the value chain. “
Gopee-Scoon invited people to walk around and familiarize themselves with the new products that companies at the booths were offering. She also thanked ExportTT and TTMA for giving the opportunity to these companies and those led by the next generation of business owners.
“You know some of our ministries are focused on youth and agriculture, so that includes (their involvement in) agro processing and production. We are making sure we hit it from all angles and the result should only be positive.
She announced that the Cabinet, on Thursday last week, had approved commercial offices for agro-processing businesses to help market their products, ranging from niche products to products that will appeal to the diaspora. Details for specific markets will be made public soon.
Gopee-Scoon said this is the approach that will be taken across the region to reduce the food import bill by 25 percent by 2025.
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“There is a factory coming soon at the end of the month and they will be producing all biodegradable and compostable products. And that’s also what we care about, the environment.”
TTMA President Tricia Coosal said she was happy with the response to TIC this year.
“It was about half the size compared to other years like 2019,” Coosal said.
“The reason is that when we were applying for the permit, we were still in the middle of a pandemic, so, unfortunately, the show is only half the size it was. But it hasn’t taken away anything except a lot of companies looking for space that we don’t have.”
She said she was happy to partner with the commerce ministry to lower the import bill.
