Business View Caribbean | August 2022

22 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 8 biggest earners of foreign exchange – is doing well. But behind tourism, a lot of services are needed. The food supplied to the hotels, the craft work, and many other types of products and services help to make a vibrant industry. So the BSJ create the standards and help to train the people to meet those requirements. “There is also a lot of import substitution taking place, because Jamaica imports roughly $1 billion (U.S.) worth of food annually,” Dr. Gooden reports. “And with the challenges caused by the war between Ukraine and Russia, food security is a big issue. So local farmers and agro processors must meet stringent food safety requirements in order to supply the hotels that usually get products easily from abroad. We are training local agro processors to use the food safety standards and produce at an equivalent level of quality and safety to supply these hotels directly.” In the next three to five years, Dr. Gooden would definitely like the Bureau of Standards Jamaica to be top of mind as a facilitator and enabler of business. He shares, “I’d like us to be the go- to agency when you think of expanding your business, creating a new product, getting it into a market… because we provide all of these services. I’d also like to see more integration with some of the different entities like JMEA, JAPA, and others, and also with our sister agencies like JAMPRO, that brings new businesses to Jamaica. The BSJ has so much potential.” metrology and so it is very important that the Bureau of Standards retain that talent once it has been developed. Dr. Gooden attests, “We have some of the best engineers, chemists, scientists, and microbiologists in the country and regionally. Most people who come to the bureau, we have to train to be specialized and competent in the area that they serve. I joined the BSJ team about 30 years ago as one of their senior chemists and then I left and was involved with some of Jamaica’s major companies like GraceKennedy and in more recent times with the CB Group. I have a unique competence in understanding the technical side, as well as the business side and what it takes to get into the export market and expand that market. So I’m helping them to speak the language of business, and as a result they are inclined to come to us because we understand their needs and we have access to get technical services delivered to them.” As the markets reopen, tourism – one of Jamaica’s PREFERRED VENDOR/ PARTNER n Environmental Solutions Limited www.eslcaribbean.com