Opposition leader Mia Mottley says there is a need for a “dedicated export mechanism” to help local manufacturers push into regional and international markets.
But executive director of the Barbados Manufacturers’ Association (BMA), Bobbi McKay counters that members of the sector should be focusing on satisfying and even “saturating” local markets, rather than concentrating on overseas ones which can, sometimes, sound the death knell for a company.
Both the Barbados Labour Party leader and the BMA head were touring exhibits on the second day of BMEX at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Saturday.
Mottley, who said she was extremely impressed with the exhibits this year, especially those from former students of the Barbados Community College’s Fine Arts programme, told the DAILY?NATION she was of the opinion the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) should be stepping up its efforts to help small manufacturers some of whom, she said, could “can barely find the working capital to produce”.
“I still feel that there is need for a dedicated export mechanism. We felt it should be an entity called Export Barbados, which would look to expand existing markets, existing companies as well as create new markets for new companies and existing companies but that requires investment in promotion, marketing and distribution at the regional level,” she said.
