Business View Caribbean | May 2016

10 May 2016 - Business View Caribbean Business View Caribbean - May 2016 11 Opening Lines Jamaica to Take Full Advantage of CARICOM Benefits The government of Jamaica will be appointing a Ca- ribbean Community (CARICOM) Review Commis- sion, aimed at positioning the country to take full advantage of benefits under the organization. “I think the time has come for Jamaica to fully as- sess the benefits, opportunities and challenges of CARICOM and to assert ourselves in such a way that Jamaica gets the benefit of CARICOM,” said Prime Minister Andrew Holness. The prime minister implored the country’s entre- preneurs and members of the business community in general, to think of CARICOM “as our market, and we are going to stake our claim in our market.” He pledged that the government will become even more “assertive in how we ensure that our entre- preneurs are able to access the common markets of CARICOM.” Holness advised business persons, and entrepre- neurs in particular “to take action” in seizing those marketing opportunities within CARICOM, and not be hampered by the excuse that Jamaican compa- nies are unable to compete, due to lack of efficiency. “We may not be able to compete because of the cost of energy, but we must be able to compete be- cause we have a better tasting product, because our products are packaged better, and we have tailored a product that meets the needs of the consumer. So, we may not always have comparative advantag- es, but we must also develop and emphasize our competitive advantage as well,” he said.