(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The highlight of the last day of the 2nd CARIFORUM-EU Business Forum, convened from August 8-9 in London, was two parallel breakout sessions. Both were roundly praised by delegates as “providing an opportunity to delve into the minutiae of trade opportunities with the European Union (EU), on the mantle of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).” The breakout sessions also allowed for sharing of experiences with respect to tapping into the European market, as well as an examination of associated challenges and possible ways for overcoming them. The discussions that unfolded were minded of the findings and recommendations emanating from recently held Study Tours to some major European cities; those findings and recommendations were made available to delegates this week, in published form.
The Business Forum took place under the auspices of the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), in collaboration with the African Caribbean & Pacific States Business Climate (ACP BizClim).
The breakout sessions dealt with themes that were taken up in the Study Tours. One of the sessions, namely on agro-processing, was moderated by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago, H.E. Mervyn Assam. The Hon. Damion Crawford, Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment of Jamaica was the steward of the second session, which was taken up with the cultural industries.
Both moderators characterized their respective sessions as “very informative and highly interactive.” They were of the view that the suggestions and recommendations stemming from a cross-section of presenters provided participants a better sense of the way forward to capitalize on the EPA, by either beginning or continuing to expand exports into the EU.
Among the points of convergence with respect to the issues that both sessions were seized of was branding and brand management, a point underlined especially by Mr Peter Martin, Managing Director of Taste of Barbados, in the agro-processing session. The business model of this venture resonated with participants, who were also seized of the importance of branding drawing on the experiences of the iconic Mr Levi Roots, who also served on the agro-processing panel and whose brand has wide appeal across Great Britain. Another panellist in the agro-processing session, Mr Winston Stona, Director of Associated Manufacturers Ltd., extolled the importance of product development and “romancing the product” such that consumers become personally invested in the story of/behind the product, thus giving it an edge in the market place. This point was not lost on (and was echoed by) Ms Jean-Marie Thomas, a fashion designer, nor Mr Clyde McKenzie, Executive Director, FiWi Choice – both were panellists in the cultural industries breakout session. Ambassador Assam said of the EPA, “in the final analysis there are both opportunities and challenges. In large measure, the opportunities relate to the scope for market access, whilst the challenges center on ensuring market penetration.” He was of the view that understanding the nuance of this dichotomy and positioning of private sector interests accordingly is the key to advancing on commercial successes.
The fifteen signatory Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific (CARIFORUM) States to the EPA are the independent CARICOM Member States and the Dominican Republic.
