Above: JAMPRO President Diane Edwards (centre), Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Paul Robotham and LASCO Group CEO Lascelles Chin (JIS Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Representatives from the Jamaica Promotions Corporation recently concluded its first-ever trade mission to the Dominican Republic.

The mission, which concluded its tour last week, included 15 participating companies from Jamaica, which met with Dominican retail companies including Grupo Ramos and Super Bravo, two of the largest supermarket chains in the country.

According to JAMPRO President Diane Edwards, one Jamaican firm on the trip won a trial order to a large chain, while another reported a joint venture partnership deal for a manufacturing plant in the Dominican Republic.

Edwards said JAMPRO was “breaking new ground” in the Dominican Republic, a country that exported around $48 million to Jamaica last year. That’s in comparison to just $500,000 worth of Jamaican goods exported to the Dominican Republic.

“We need to do more to build the trade between the two countries,” she said.

Metry Seaga, deputy president of the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association, said the trip could prove to be the start of “something big.”

“That is 20 million people at our doorsteps [including the Dominican Republic and Haiti],” he said. “We are looking at the United States of America and we are looking at Europe and other markets, but don’t need to go that far.”