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Manufacturing

Exciting developments now underway augur well for the continued growth of Trinidad and Tobago’s manufacturing sector – particularly if combined with the right support and incentives.

“Steps must be taken to encourage entrepreneurship,” says new President of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers’ Association (TTMA) Karen de Montbrun. “We realise that many companies have reached maturity and, in order to remain competitive, manufacturers must retool and adopt new technologies.

“One way of encouraging investment in the manufacturing sector is allowing incentives in terms of capital investment in plants and machinery,” she told Who’s Who.

There must also be an enabling business environment that encourages, informs and regulates all business and investment, she said.

The TTMA is optimistic that there will be further strengthening of Trinidad and Tobago’s Manufacturing Sector in 2007-2008 but expressed concern that the cost of doing business was taking a toll on competitiveness.

“The cost of inputs to manufacturing continues to rise: freight, insurance, security, electricity, labour – and these increases lead to a decline in manufacturers’ competitiveness, both on the local and export market,” she said.

The TTMA will continue to work with the Government to address some of these issues, she added. In 2007, it will continue to lobby for improvements at the country’s Ports, Customs and Excise Division, the Bureau of Standards, Food and Drug Division and Plant Quarantine. “The efficiency of these bodies is critical to competitiveness,” de Montbrun stressed.

Noting improvements at the Port of Port of Spain, the TTMA President said: “Containers are now being moved at a faster pace from the Port as a result of measures implemented by the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.”

However, “the question of the relocation of the Port remains unanswered.”

“We’ve been saying that we want to move towards developed nation status. But we cannot achieve this goal if our ports continue to operate with aging equipment, and constraints of inadequate storage space,” she said.

Pointing to problems at the Customs Division, which “continues to work with outdated systems, and suffers from a shortage of staff,” she said: “We eagerly look forward to the full implementation of the ASYCUDA ++ system, which will facilitate the faster processing of documents.”

With the opening up of the market under the Caribbean Single Market, and a possible Free Trade Agreement being negotiated with the US, the TTMA would also like to see legislation introduced to ensure safeguard mechanisms are in place to prevent local manufacturers from being disadvantaged.

“The Government needs to work more closely with the TTMA in developing the diversification of the economy,” de Montbrun said. “In developed countries, the manufacturing sector is protected because of its contribution to GDP and sustainable employment. We’d like to see a similar situation here in Trinidad and Tobago.”

In the meantime, she conceded that: “The Government is working to improve the customs services, port facilities and the various institutions facilitating business.

Looking at other initiatives to develop the non-oil sector, the TTMA pointed to:

wide-ranging assistance and incentives for the seven sectors identified for development
the implementation of a degree programme in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT)
a price reduction for businesses in the Light Industrial and Commercial sector (LIC) using less than one million MMbtu of Natural Gas per month.
a $24 million fund being disbursed over a four-year period to fund studies for the development of the manufacturing sector by using more natural gas in manufacturing processes
the establishment of the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Research and Development Facility, which aims to encourage alliances among businesses to approach technology and innovation challenges collectively through clusters.

The TTMA is also working with bp Trinidad and Tobago (bpTT) with respect to the creation of Oil and Gas Linkages – an initiative championed by TTMA Past President Robert Tang Yuk.

A committee put together last year includes the TTMA, bpTT and the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Working from a list supplied by bpTT on all the goods and services it procures, the committee intends to select and study specific sectors to determine which have potential for value added in Trinidad and Tobago.

The aim is to develop supporting industries that “really add value and give something better” and which can grow into something world class that could be exported, Tang Yuk said. “We would like to get more petrochemical companies involved in this initiative,” he added.

Alongside the various initiatives to expand the manufacturing sector, is the plan to significantly expand the physical infrastructure serving the sector with the development of eight new industrial parks in 2007-2008, targeting light, non-oil industries. Construction has also begun on the flagship, 1,100-acre Tamana InTech Science and Technology Park at Wallerfield, which will focus particularly on businesses in the information and communications technology sector.

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