22 October 2015 - Business View Caribbean
The Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association
Serving the industrial sector with excellence since 1947
The Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) was
formed in 1947, by eight manufacturers who wanted
to provide support to local businesses while encour-
aging the island’s population to buy Jamaican-made
goods. Brian Pengelley, Brian Pengelley, JMA’s former
President who stepped down this past June, explains:
“The manufacturing industry in Jamaica emerged out
of necessity. Because when you go back to the pre-
and post-colonial years, agriculture was basically the
bedrock of our economy. We had a shortage of lo-
cally manufactured goods which were being filled by
imports.” But after World War II, Pengelley points out
that there was a decline in imports. So, goods that
were previously supplied by imports now had to be
produced locally.
Almost seven decades later, the original “Buy Jamai-
can” campaign is still going strong and the JMA’s mem-
bership has grown to 365 members who represent all
sub-sectors of the island’s economy. JMA’s mandate
is to promote the development of the country’s manu-
facturing sector by providing relevant services to its
