$80b untapped export potential
Rum, coffee and pastry on list of market opportunities
Published:Wednesday | July 14, 2021 | 12:09 AMKarena Bennett/Business Reporter
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A new report that was jointly undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture...
A new report that was jointly undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries and the Ministry of Industry, Investment & Commerce, MIIC, has identified rum, roots and tubers, and pastry, among other local products, that are said to have the greatest untapped export potential.
Overall, the report finds that Jamaica is missing out on more than $80 billion in untapped trade.
The report, which assessed 24 products, has singled out rum as the product with the largest gap between the dollar value of actual exports versus the potential market that exists. It estimated the untapped market for rum at US$64.4 million, which translates to $9.9 billion in local currency, saying that while rum has export potential of US$107.8 million ($16.5 billion), actual exports are currently estimated at US$52 million ($8 billion).
Jamaica’s rum market is dominated by J. Wray & Nephew Limited, a two-century-old operation that is now owned by Campari Group of Italy. Others include, but are not confined to, National Rums of Jamaica and Worthy Park Estate.
The value of the untapped market for various other products were estimated at US$37 million ($5.7 billion) for coffee; then root and tubers at US$26.9 million ($4.1 billion); beer at US$24.5 million ($3.8 billion); edible plant parts at US$20.8 million ($3.2 billion); pastry at US$17.5 million ($2.7 billion); and sauces at US$15.7 million ($2.4 billion).
While smaller in total export value, the report, which was released last month, has also shown that Jamaica has significant untapped market for the export of cocoa beans, papaya, nuts and sweet potatoes.
Sweet potato imports by the United Kingdom accounts for 29.16 per cent of the global market and its demand for the product continues to grow at an annual rate of six per cent. France, Italy and Germany – while smaller consumers of sweet potatoes – have each recorded an annual growth rate that is upwards of 50 per cent for the tuber.
The strongest annual demand for cocoa beans comes from Spain, which only consumes 3.22 per cent of global supplies. Germany, the fourth-largest world importer of cocoa beans, has seen an annual growth of 40 per cent, and the Netherlands – the largest importer – grows at 36 per cent annually.
But there are also opportunities for Jamaican suppliers to capture markets from the United States, Colombia and Mexico for the importation of cocoa and papaya across the Caribbean, the ministries’ Trade Unit said in the report.
Currently, Caricom member states import US$51 million ($7.9 billion) in cocoa and cocoa products; while the import value for papaya stands at US$8.1 million ($1.2 billion).
“In addition to the products identified above, these products should be looked at intently with a view to widening the export base through increased utilisation of existing trade agreements,” the Trade Unit said.
Combined, the 24 products highlighted by the Trade Unit puts the total untapped export potential at US$528.5 million ($81.5 billion).
The country, however, appears to be making headways with the export of lobster, medicinal plants and ginger in the international markets based on reports that local suppliers have secured markets for more than 70 per cent of the products’ total export value.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry operated as a single ministry up to 2020, but were demerged following the general election in that year.