Tijule

Business View CARIBBEAN 5 clude optimizing the Caribbean region’s export poten- tial through facilitating innovation and the creation of world-class brands. It was created in 1996 by an intergovernmental agree- ment of the members of the Caribbean Group of Af- rican, Caribbean and Pacific States and provides ex- port development and investment promotion services through program execution and strategic partnerships. Additionally, Tijule was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to export ackees in 2002, and it implements hazard and critical control point (HACCP) quality systems for other products with the assistance of the Center for Development in Industry – which sup- ports the creation, expansion, diversification, reha- bilitation and privatization of industrial enterprises in African, Caribbean and Pacific counties through identi- fication of projects and potential partners, operations prior to implementation of a project, financial and le- gal structuring of a project and project start-up and development. Objectives going forward, Roy Newell said, include in- vestment in marketing and intellectual property, an im- proved penetration strategy for U.S. markets and entry into more Canadian markets. Also planned is an up- grade of the internal machine line that labels products and the stabilizing of production costs by using more automated and less labor-intensive processes. “We’re focused on gaining a fair share of the multi-mil- lion dollar North American market,” he said. “We want to establish our brands in selected European coun- tries and we’re looking into the possibility of locating a processing plant in an African country.”