KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – A senior government minister has warned Jamaican companies operating overseas to comply with the rules of the countries where they have established businesses.
“Do not mess with the law. Make sure you follow the right law in every country you operate in. People in business must play by the rules. If you want to go to Britain, do not come home and tell me you messed up the rules. Play by the British rules,” said Industry, Investment, and Commerce Minister Aubyn Hill.
“You go to the United States. You go to Trinidad. You go to Guyana. You play by the rules because anybody who comes here, we want them to play by the rules,” he told the Clarence Benjamin Group’s global strategic press launch.
The Clarence Benjamin Group (CBG) is on a thrust to grow its brands through exports of its sauces and spices. It has positioned its business to reach markets through a direct-to-customer approach, selling Jamaican experiences through food culture expansion.
Hill said there was a need for more focus on exports to improve the country’s trade gap.
“Last year, we celebrated our 60th, and I asked for the data from 1960. I got 61 years of data. It was only one year in those 61 years that we had a positive trade balance, and that year was 1966.
“We must change that…we are doing well. Our economy has returned from COVID, but our per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is too low. We need to be a rich country to afford what we want,” Hill said.
CBG chief executive officer, Craslyn Benjamin, said the company had registered its international subsidiary, “and our restaurant is ready to deliver hot prepared meals using our amazing sauces, seasonings, and spices coming out Jamaica, delivering that to consumers within the European market.”
The goal of the CBG is international market penetration, and the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) United Kingdom has partnered with the entity to host an exclusive launch of their brands in London next month.
JAMPRO President, Shullette Cox, said with the growing demand for ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook ethnic cuisine, sauces, and spices in the UK, Clarence Benjamin Group’s thrust is to elevate its brands and increase revenue through exports.
“This demonstrates that with a shift in strategic focus and development of a renewed business model, micro, medium and small enterprises can establish and realize an attainable roadmap for success in exports,” she said.
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