JAMPRO says Export Max II participants earn $1.7B in export sales

Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) is reporting that the 20 companies that participated in its Export Max II programme have raked in a whopping $1.7 billion in export earnings, which represents an average 213 per cent growth in sales.

This is according to manager for JAMPRO’s Sales Support Unit, Ricardo Durrant, who said these companies created 173 new jobs as a result of the increased business.

Durrant told JIS News that the companies generated $703 million in new investments, with 14 benefiting from a productivity improvement initiative and five securing contract manufacturing opportunities.

“Export Max is dedicated towards the development of firms so that they become export ready. We had Export Max I, which was the pilot project between 2011 and 2013, which had 15 companies within that cohort, and allowed us to see a 33 per cent growth in exports. So once we got that encouraging result, we realised that we had a very good programme and soon after, rolled out the second phase of the initiative,” he explained.

He said all the entities participating in Export Max II have acquired at least one new external market, spanning the Caribbean, United States, Canada, and United Kingdom.

Durrant pointed out that all the companies participated in inward and outward trade missions to promote their products to international buyers. They also benefited from business development coaching and productivity audits, and received mentorship from business professionals.

Following on the success of Export Max II, JAMPRO will roll out the initiative’s third phase in April, which will accommodate approximately 50 companies over the next three years.

JAMPRO is partnering with the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) and Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) to implement Export Max III, which will entail mentorship, business development, sales training and export promotion.

The principal goal of Export Max is to create for participating companies the opportunities that enable competitive positioning, thereby enables them to tap into market opportunities and ultimately contribute more to the Jamaican economy.

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