THE JAMAICAN manufacturing sector has had to cope with a number of economic and political obstacles over the last decade-and-a-half. These have varied from the high levels of financing costs (with high interest rates for borrowing funds); high operational costs (given our depen-dence on imported energy); low efficiency levels (including low worker productivity and high levels of absenteeism); frequent industrial disputes; fluctuating exchange rate costs; increased competition from imports in a liberalised domestic market and the diversion of manufacturing businesses to other countries where operational costs are more competitive.
Today, the manufacturing sector in Jamaica is leaner and trimmer and more efficient, with greater focus on providing quality products at competitive prices. Work stoppages now are a rarity in that sector. There has even been a resurgence of the 'Buy Jamaican' campaign, highlighting the variety of Jamaican goods on offer to the consuming public.
COPING WITH COMPETITION
This does not mean that all is well, as there are great challenges in meeting competitive prices, given the dominance regionally of Trinidad and Tobago's manufactured firms; while the shadow of high levels of crime continue to create added indirect costs, whether in the form of security against theft or extortion; and to compound this, the recent terrorism prevention measures will make
it more difficult to export goods overseas to non-CARICOM
markets like the USA.
Jamaica's diverse manufacturing sector, however, has the ability to provide a variety of goods, ranging from food processed goods, to beverages and tobacco, textile and leather goods chemical and by-products, non-metallic minerals, and metal-based products. More businesses now see that if they offer a unique Jamaican type of product, then it stands a greater chance of being viable than the direct import substitution version of the past (where the inputs were all imported and reassembled here, but just called Jamaican and sold at high local prices).
While some countries may be very worried about the full liberalisation of the regional market (CSME), Jamaican manufacturers have long before this started to cope with such competition. A challenge is to get access parity on the part of regional counterparts as some hidden trade restrictions still work against some Jamaican manufacturing exports. More support has to come from enforcing anti-dumping imports and doing it in a much speedier way. The Bureau of Standards has two roles to play in this, one in ensuring that such imports are not sumped into the local market, and two, working with local manufacturers to ensure that local products are 'up to scratch' and comply with appropriate quality standards. The local body for manufacturers, the JMA, also need to continue to push for more promotional export drives and work more vigorously at widening sales to countries where new trade agreements are being negotiated.
As things stands today, while the manufacturing sector's efforts are unlikely to do much in closing the enormous trade deficit the country faces, they are helping to close the gap.
