Several members of the Vincentian business community were given the opportunity to showcase their products and services at a recent regional exposition attended by Invest SVG.
Invest SVG Export Development Manager Peter Edward attended HUB Camara Santo Domingo 2018 –which had an attendance of over 5,000 persons.
Edward said that he was exceptionally pleased by the response to the Vincentian owned and produced items that he took with him to the Dominican Republic.
“Given our size, many of the buyers that I met with had never had any business connections with St. Vincent and the Grenadines before. So, they were quite excited by the high quality of our displayed products, and the prospect of doing business with us,” Edward said.
During his attendance at the expo, which ran from March 5 – 10, the Export Development manager promoted products from Aurora’s (Alita Garraway), Red Bikini Rum Punch (Natalie Cato), Olive Art Designs (Christal Oliver), Island Gems composite flour (Kaynella Nichols), Vincentian Chocolate, Grenadines Sea Salt (Jerry Simpson), Peta Odini (Odini Sutherland). Jazzy’s All Natural (Jasmin Deane), Valkelly (Kay-Dawn Fergusson), and Lacoda Bath & Sparkles (Alithea Gibson).
“We can compete on any level across the sectors,” said Edward. “And that’s not just my personal opinion; that’s what regional buyers expressed to me!”
Edward further noted that he participated in B2B meetings (facilitated by Caribbean Export Development Agency and individually organised) with buyers from the Dominican Republic, Belize, Haiti, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Barbados and Trinidad, and is currently following up with several of these buyers.
Moreover, the export development manager also met with two Dominican Republic hotel chains — El Embajador and La Romana — which both showed interest in the Vincentian skincare and haircare products.
“Two of the challenges that face us now — as a country and as a region — is that some of our producers need to improve their packaging and branding, and there are trade barriers that I hope will be addressed and rectified in the near future.”
He added: “Not only did we get a lot of interest in our products and services, there was also a lot of interest in participating in our ‘Everything Vincy’ Plus Expo 2018.”
Edward explained that attending the expo also enabled him to pick up tips and ideas that can be incorporated into Invest SVG executing an even more successful “Everything Vincy” expo this year and beyond.
Everything Vincy Plus Expo 2018 will be held from Oct. 23 – 28, and, along with Vincentian participants, will also cater to regional participants and buyers.
Great news!!! Hope they keep up the good work. We need to focus more on business entrepreneurship. There are many areas lacking in SVG the entrepreneurs can take advantage of especially with the direct flights now coming in the country there are many room for improvements.
The only one to benefit from this Expo was Peter Edward who I trust had a nice time visiting the Dominican Republic.
The truth is that none of these products, most of them retailing in Kingstown at prices well beyond the means of the average consumer, could be manufactured in the quantities and consistencies required for regional markets, many of which already produce the same items at lower domestic prices.
Just this week I had my first taste of our local milk chocolate and found it to be of average quality compared to the chocolate bars I am used to sampling overseas which retail at less than half the price.
The new national myth that our soil produces the best chocolate in the world is just as spurious as the myth that our soil produces the best marijuana in world.
The only thing we are best at is fooling ourselves over and over about our mainland development potential.
Our only export potential has always been — and will always remain — the shipment of large amounts of raw agricultural produce to near and distant markets.
With the banana market dead, we should be focusing most of our effort on other crops to grow for overseas shipment.
Ben you are so very smart so tell me this….. Which Caribbean country except for Haiti that exports any crop?? I’ll wait….
Plus the reason why Haiti may export mango is because an American company runs it, the EU and NAFTA killed all export of Caribbean crops decades ago and there will be no resurrection because of economic slavery by the new world order.. Entrepreneural businesses or corporate businesses that’s willing to do off shores manufacturing in these islands is the best option in my views.
Jamaica, Cuba, The Dominican Republic, and Guyana still ship food crops like ground provisions, bananas, sugar, and rice outside the region but on a very much reduced scale because of international competition and the removal of trade preferences due to trade liberalization.
As for offshore manufacturing, we lost what we had years ago largely due to competition from cheaper producers in Asia. There is not a hope in hell that it would ever return.
So what is left? Not tourism, at least no on the mainland.
So what is the solution to our economic woes except the continuing export of our people?
As I have repeatedly stated — a message nobody wants to accept — is that some problems have no solution.
Ben all those countries you mentioned their number one source of revenue is tourism. And none export to USA or Europe due to restrictions and also any small form of agriculture market they have is run and controlled by foreign companies which do not benefit average citizens on a whole.
As I have stated time and time again there are many room for improvements on the main island of SVG but it can only start by the people and investors creating businesses to feed the wants of visitors and locals.
Also very importantantly MUST tie in the Grenadines Islands with the mainland to get maximum benefits.
These things don’t happen by just snapping a finger. There’s important work to be done and it starts with ones self and the leaders to put in the infrastructures which the AIA is a very important one plus direct flights HAVE started so what’s the excuse now??? They have no where to go or be entertained. As you and other mentioned no night life, no water sports or activities, no restaurants, no island tours, no yacht tours, no horse back riding on the beach, not enough festivals etc. I can go on and on of ways to increase interest and improve our island market. Vincentians are know for sitting on their money instead of getting some entrepreneural skills and invest before the foreigners do it!!!!
AI, our business people are very shrewd anf gifted individuals — unlike countries like America and Canada where many a dunce has started a small business and seen it grow — or they couldn’t survive in our hand-to-mouth country. Indeed, we have seen hundreds of small and large businesses, some owned by multinational companies, going bust over the decades.
These people are not “sitting on their money,” as you say. They are simply not foolish enough to invest in a tourist industry that will never flourish.
I see hope and you see no hope Ben so let’s just leave it at that .
Kudos to excellent representation. Al, do not expect positive comments from this man. This dude is sick to the core. Negativity is all over Ben, he’s in terrible shape.
The man is not a Vincentian, foreigner parading as local. A failure all his life, that’s why I placed him in the 1% category. AIA/SVG showing vast improvement while Ben sliding backwards with his failed strategy. Mission incomplete, no headway at all. Grumpy, miserable, working tirelessly trying to sway Vincies but no one is paying this fool any mind. Blight, run way.
I have no “strategy” and no “mission” except to tell the truth, something you hate to hear. Yet you are still compulsively forced to read and comment on everything I write without supplying any logical or factual counter arguments. Why?
We could strive to make deals with private companies to sell our produce to. Keep working hard, don’t give up. We have nothing to lose, only to gain. And, If at first we don’t succeed, we must try and try again. There are many capable people in SVG. Lets bundle our resources. in unity there is strength. Unite for the benefit of our people. The main land has many beaches. A beach doesn’t have to have white sand to be a good beach. I must be clean and have amenities that would attract visitors. We must become more welcoming and friendly to visitors to our island. We can do it.
Who is “we”? The government which could not save our banana industry? I hope not.
And what produce do we really have to sell in large amounts on a regular basis.
Tell us what “resources” do you want us to bundle?
Yes, a beach must have white sand to be a “good beach,” as Hawaii which has several black sands beaches which are visited by only a handful of tourists only interested in the novelty of seeing a black sand beach while 95 percent of beach tourists are only concerned with sunbathing on the cool white sand beaches and swimming in their shimmering acquamarine waters.
These are the facts ike it or not — not wishfull thinking which is all you have to offer — which is why so many of our locals flock to the imported white sand beach at Buccament Bay whenever they have a chance.
Guy I do not read your essay, no time for your crap. No mission, no strategy? Oh please cut the nonsense, your fixation on anything Vincy is glaring. It takes more than C.Ben to defeat AIA/SVG. SVG consist of numerous components, while C. Ben solo. You’ve been bashing us for (4) years, tell us what have you accomplished? Assessing your work for that period many will conclude you’ve done a terrible job. That’s for sure.
You’ve preached DOOM and GLOOM, said the nastiest things, yet you haven’t gain anything. SVG is moving forward, AIA is up and running while C.Ben frustrated, paranoid, fattening the pockets of physicians.