Industry Stakeholders Urged to Embrace Sophistication for Global Competitiveness

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill (centre), shares a moment with (from left) Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) Deputy President, Cecil Foster; President, Kathryn Silvera; Sagicor Bank Jamaica Limited Chief Executive Officer, Chorvelle Johnson Cunningham; and JMEA Executive Director, Kamesha Turner Blake. The occasion was the third staging of the Manufacture 360° Conference, hosted by the JMEA at the AC Hotel by Marriott Kingston on Wednesday (May 20), under the theme ‘Robust Recovery for Resilient Growth’.

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, has underscored the need for local industries to embrace a higher level of sophistication in order to remain competitive within a shifting global operating environment.

He noted that Hurricane Melissa devastated much of Jamaica’s western parishes, including manufacturing enterprises, and that this impact has been compounded by unrest in the Middle East, which has disrupted trade and oil supplies.

He added that these challenges have occurred on top of the dislocation caused by the ongoing Russia Ukraine conflict.

“We’re navigating supply chain disruptions, geopolitical volatility, tariff realignments, and climate-related shocks that continue to reshape global commerce and investment. The unpredictability of the global trading environment is the new normal. For Jamaica’s manufacturers to achieve robust, resilient growth, our strategic thinking must match the complexity of the challenge,” Senator Hill argued.

He maintained that, in order to compete, procurement must become more proactive; enterprises can no longer “rely on a single supplier, a sole shipping lane, or a single convenient market”, and approvals within business processes must be completed much more quickly.

The Minister was delivering remarks during the Manufacture 360° Conference, hosted by the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) at the AC Hotel by Marriott Kingston on Wednesday (May 20), under the theme ‘Robust Recovery for Resilient Growth’.

Senator Hill noted that the integration of technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), together with the upskilling and reskilling of the workforce, must be strengthened if local enterprises are to successfully compete globally and advance national development and resilience.

“The manufacturers who will lead the next decade are right now adopting these tools to invest in digital AI-driven systems to replace manual processes and achieve measurable efficiency,” he said.

“Technology is only one part of the equation. You cannot have a high-performing manufacturing sector without a high-performing workforce [and] the upskilling and re-skilling of our workers is an economic necessity. The private sector and government must invest to upskill our Jamaican people fast, not slowly,” Minister Hill added.

Meanwhile, JMEA President, Kathryn Silvera, noted that this third staging of the Manufacture 360° Conference is intended to address questions and issues that exposed shortcomings within the sector in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

She shared that the conference will focus on resilience as manufacturing and export enterprises rebuild, specifically addressing gaps in business continuity, fragile supply chains, inadequate insurance coverage, and financing.

“Recovery is not enough. We must rebuild stronger, smarter, more resilient. This year, we have structured the conference around the realities that are keeping our members up at night, and the solutions that can genuinely move the needle,” Ms. Silvera said.

She further noted that the conference will explore how to build facilities capable of withstanding a Category Five disaster; how to restructure supply chains from reactive crisis management to predictive, resilient systems; how to ensure adequate insurance coverage; and how to secure access to recovery financing while investing in future growth.

“These are not theoretical questions. They are survival questions… the ones that will decide whether Jamaica’s manufacturing sector emerges stronger or merely survives,” Ms. Silvera added.

Source: JIS