Persons within the manufacturing sector gathered at the conference room of the Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce on Wednesday for a one day strategic consultation to identify solutions to the challenges facing the industry.
The manufacturing sector is a major contributor to employment, gross domestic product (GDP) and foreign exchange for the country. This sector is however plagued with problems such as the supply of raw materials and transport to the export market.
“Having already identified a number of challenges facing the sector, the consultation served to identify solutions to the challenges and provide some strategic directions for the sector, going forward,” said a statement from the Ministry of Finance.
At the consultation, the broad issues of the sector were dealt with in the general forum after which participants were deployed into working groups based on their sectoral interests:
- Agro-Processing
- Beverages
- Aromatherapy
- Craft, Clothing and Textiles
- Fresh Fish
- Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
The Forum was addressed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Business, Hon. Nickolas Steele and the Director of Trade at the Ministry of Economic Development, Planning, Trade and Cooperatives, Mr. Junior Mahon.
The consultation was organized and coordinated by the Private Sector Working Group (PSWG) which comprises of the Ministry responsible for Trade, the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Unit, the Grenada Chamber of Industry & Commerce (GCIC) and the Grenada Industrial Development Cooperation.
