JAMPRO WILL be showcasing the products of 14 companies in the area of food and beverage and will be seeking to forge alliances for the development of the country's information technology sector at the Group of 15 (G-15) trade exhibition in Cairo, Egypt, which runs from June 13 to 21.The trade show is part of the G-15 Summit, which begins tomorrow.
According to a release from JAMPRESS, vice-president of marketing at JAMPRO, Claudette Chin, said the organisation would be seeking to identify distributors for Jamaican coffee, biscuits and cigarettes, among other products.
"We have taken the products of those 14 companies, we have all their information, their prices and we will be representing them at this G-15. We will be giving samples of their products and giving feedback on our return," she pointed out.
Mrs. Chin also said that JAMPRO would be speaking with countries that Jamaica had signed co-operation agreements with, and informing about the country's new thrust in information technology.
"We will use the opportunity to network properly and maximise whatever we can get out of this union," she said.
Noting that attempts would be made to forge alliances in non-traditional areas, she said that Malaysia and Sri Lanka have expressed interest in marketing non-traditional products and "we will be seeking to further those discussions."
She pointed to the market potential of the G-15 member countries, which spanned the continents of Africa, Asia and South America, adding that Jamaica stood to gain from participating in the trade show.
Mrs. Chin noted that the countries accounted for 10 per cent of world trade and 30 per cent of the world population. "There is tremendous opportunity to look at these markets and do our part in fostering South-South co-operation on the economic and political side," she said.
She said buyers from non G-15 countries also visited the trade fair, and that coming out of last year's exhibition here, Jamaica had been able to ship goods to the United Kingdom, Haiti and Cuba.
Commenting on last year's trade show, Mrs. Chin said that of the 75 Jamaican companies that participated, most had expressed satisfaction with their experience.
She said 30 persons reported signing contracts for business, another 30 reported that they were in negotiations, while seven reported that they did no business.
"So, from the feedback we got, participants were fairly happy with the accomplishments at the last G-15," she added.
In terms of the trade statistics, she said JAMPRO was encouraged by the fact that exports to G-15 countries have increased by 24 per cent over the 1998/99 period.
"We think it sends a good signal... that looking at new markets can pay off for Jamaica," Mrs. Chin said.
