NEW PRESIDENT of the Jamaica Exporters Association Ricky Waites, says major opportunities in the sector are not being properly exploited.
Despite the new global environment, Jamaica enjoys advantages in the production of several crops, Mr. Waites said. And, he added that many exporters are not taking advantage of the resources available to them.
"The future is bright for certain crops," Mr. Waites said. "Take yams, papayas and citrus-- take the top ten non-traditional produce exports. We could really boost those."
With the application of science and technology, production of these crops could be enhanced, he said. But smaller growers need to work together to achieve economies of scale he said in an exclusive interview with Wednesday Business.
"There are good markets and niche opportunities for some products," he said. And despite the of bad news in the agricultural sector, some export sectors without any fanfare are competing successfully.
"We have excellent land, an abundance of water, constant temperatures, sunshine and an available work force," he said. "Other countries are engaged in agriculture and competing successfully with only a fraction of what we have."
There are negatives factors facing agriculture such as praedial larceny and bad roads, he said. These issues need to be addressed in order to encourage investment .
"The agricultural sector is treated as the bottom end of the export sector," he said. "But it is a vital industry."
Managing director of Valley Fruits Company in Salt Marsh and president of the Papaya Growers Association, Mr. Waites said, "I am a farmer and I can bring that experience to the export sector."
A holder of the Trelawny Champion Large Farmer title on several occasions, he is a pioneer papaya exporter and a resource person for some smaller farmers in the parish.
"I am an agricultural producer and exporter," he said. "That gives me a fairly good experience of what is happening in the Jamaican economy."
And despite the problems there are facilities available which, "can go a long way to help our exporters," he said. "But many exporters don't use the facilities."
The amalgamation of the several private sector associations has helped to enhance the support available to the export sector, he said. This has brought the JEA, along with several other leading private sector representative organisations, under one roof with the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica
There is "an excellent secretariat available," to assist exporters, he said. "We need to tell our (JEA) members the things that we do to develop our relationship again. That is a goal for the coming year."
There is also a need for the "backward integration" of export firms, he said. Export firms need to ensure that their suppliers get access to the best technology to ensure they remain competitive.
"We are long past the time when we produced things cheaply because our labour rates were cheap," Mr. Waites said. "Jamaica has to do what is necessary to improve and increase our exports and that should be our ultimate goal."
