Pandohie urges T&T investors to keep knocking as trade mission kicks off

CEO of Seprod Group, Richard Pandohie, has urged Trinidadian companies on a trade mission to Jamaica to look beyond the traditional business paradigm of hunting new markets for goods and services.

He has encouraged a different approach: growing the pie instead of sharing the pie.

“Perhaps we need to take another approach. Take an investment position and build out the business both ways. That’s what we did at Seprod. We were selling to Trinidad for a long time and the rest of the Caribbean, but it doesn’t take you to the next level of building a platform for your company,” Pandohie said during a Doing Business with Jamaica Seminar on Monday.

Sixteen companies are on a visit to Jamaica, spanning the construction, food and beverage, logistics packaging and printing, chemicals, among other sectors.

Pandohie referenced a deal which is to be closed this week with Trinidadian manufacturing company, Vemco, which will supply peanut paste to Seprod.

“It took a lot of effort. Three years later, they are now our supplier, replacing an extraregional supplier,” he said.

Further, he urged the Jamaican Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) to begin work to make the sampling process smoother.

“The issue of samples being moved across markets is a nightmare. It’s like moving molasses on an incline. I think that’s a barrier, and in the case of the Vemco, what should have taken days took weeks,” he lamented.

Pandohie told the business owners that good relationships are the foundation of partnerships and encouraged them not to be disappointed if their goals are not met on this trade mission.

“The idea is to open the door and keep knocking. On average, it takes two to three years to really close a business deal that is substantial,” he said.

In her remarks, TTMA President Tricia Coosal said the mission’s aim is to expand and promote bilateral export trade and solidify the relations.

“T&T views Jamaica as one of the most valued trading partners in the region. However, we will all agree that this relationship is much more than trade today ... .

“Jamaica offers multiple business and investment opportunities as a result of a variety of factors, such as its desirable geographic location, current legal framework, economic stability and infrastructure. The country is identified as one of the fastest-growing economies in the Caribbean,” the president said.

Coosal said that an overall examination of statistics between both countries shows that trade has steadily improved over the years.

“As president of the TTMA, I hope the two sides can make the utmost effort to unleash their full potential in our cooperation and move things to a new high. I hope we will make concerted efforts to have fruitful conversations over the next four days that will, in the long run, morph into partnerships and joint ventures,” Coosal remarked.

According to data from the International Trade Centre, a United Nations statistics body, Jamaica imported US$188 million from Trinidad and Tobago in 2021, led by beverages, spirits, and vinegar.

Trinidad and Tobago imported US$16.1 million worth of goods from Jamaica in 2021, topped by mineral fuels and oils.

Caribbean Adhesives & Chemicals is one of 16 companies represented at the trade mission, and its general manager, Darryl Narvyn Ramnath, said his organisation was recently successful in exporting its products to Guyana and has five customers in the country.

“We want to expand a little more to the wider Caribbean and we are targeting Jamaica, being the largest English-speaking country in the Caribbean. We have some meetings set up for us through TTMA and we hope to be successful in meeting one of the major hardware distributors in the country,” Ramnath said.

Established in 1995, the company manufactures solvents, paint thinners, chemicals, and the Dunlop range of adhesives - contact cement, PVC glue and wood glue, among other items.

The company’s manager of export and logistics, Zeandra Maingot, told The Gleaner that they have not had any barriers to entering the market thus far.

“For now, we’d like to get distributors, but we’re definitely open to partnerships,” she said.

judana.murphy@gleanerjm.com