Local businesses exhibiting at Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) for the first time this year hailed their debut at the premier tourism trade show as a success.

Some fifty suppliers were asked to display a range of agriculture, manufacturing, and arts and crafts products under the JAMPRO Business to Business Linkages programme in the hopes they would tap into the lucrative tourism market.

The organisers of the annual show – the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association and the Jamaica Tourist Board – partnered with JAMPRO to allow the local businesses to negotiate with institutional buyers on the trade floor of JAPEX, which ended Tuesday at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

And after two days of meeting with potential buyers, many of the exhibitors expressed satisfaction with the business contacts they had made.

Margaret Adams, director of marketing and sales at Barrington Cigars Jamaica, said JAPEX provided the perfect opportunity to inform potential clients about its products.

Barrington, the only manufacturer of cigars in Jamaica, already sells in some hotels across the island, but it got the opportunity to increase its client base, Adams said.

“We are getting new potential customers and also getting feedback on how well the cigars are doing in the hotels,” she told the Business Observer.

Pauline Wilson, general manager of Pioneer Meat Products Limited, said the event offered the 20-year-old company the opportunity to expand into hotels.

While no deals were sealed on the trade floor, Wilson said displaying its wide array of products at JAPEX raised the company’s visibility in the market place.

“We have initiated a lot of contacts who we will be able to get in touch with at a later date,” she said.

The company already has the ability meet the orders of large hotels as it is operating at only 60 per cent of capacity.

Also, Wilson said, Pioneer is presently talking to the Exim Bank about intermediate funding in a bid to sustain its operations during the long wait to receive payments.

“The pig farmers only give us about seven days to pay for the meat while the buyers don’t pay us until some 45 days later,” she said.

The local producer of sausage, bacon, ham and frankfurters, among others, employs some 42 persons.

Meanwhile, the chief executive officer of Interactive Voice Solutions, David Riley, said many Jamaican businesses are not aware of all the offerings which can be had locally.

Riley, who was featuring two main products – accounting software to track telephone calls and a message on hold programme which enhances the corporate experience for callers – said all his software is locally developed.

Among the diverse mix of exhibitors was the University of Technology, which in addition to showcasing brand Jamaica through Jamaica’s athletes, also promoted the university’s School of Hospitality.

Rosemarie Donaldson-Ivey, a lecturer at the school, said the institution was using the opportunity to introduce its new Western campus, located in the resort region.

“Hotels will be happy that we are bringing the training to them so their staff can upgrade themselves,” said Donaldson-Ivey.

Leisure for Pleasure Holidays & Tours used the opportunity to tell representatives from hotels about the packages available for visitors to the island.

“We have had some persons stopping by to learn more about what we offer because they didn’t know that much about us,” said managing director Judith James.

Homechefs – a seasoning company which only opened its doors in March – attracted a steady stream of visitors to its booth to sample meat marinated in the tasty product.

Although the company has penetrated local supermarkets, the vision is to tap into restaurants and hotels, said Orville Mighty, its marketing manager.

“We have prospects for export but we are trying to build the local market first and the interest has been great so far,” he said of the event.

Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister Dr Christopher Tufton expressed confidence that the partnership with JAPEX will go a far way towards maximising the overall development benefits of the tourism industry.

The minister told the opening ceremony of JAPEX on Sunday that while this vision is within the country’s reach, it is not without its challenges.

Among the issues that impede local suppliers from the SME sector from forming stronger and more sustained business links with buyers in hospitality are price competitiveness, quality standards and quantity reliability, said Tufton. “SMEs have to compete with cheaper, more cost-effective imports.”

He noted further that there are concerns from buyers that prices are volatile and susceptible to shocks such as hurricanes, floods and droughts.

Despite the many difficulties, it is incumbent on local businesses supplying products and services to the tourism trade to consistently meet international standards for quality, performance and delivery, he said.

“In addition to this, it is also important for local suppliers to ensure that they maintain the highest standard of professionalism in all facets of their operations.”

There is no wiggle room for suppliers who are unable to meet the demand of buyers on quantity reliability, he said. “Overcoming these and other challenges are critical if buyers in the tourism sector are to forge more meaningful business linkages with SMEs in the many different areas of their value chains,” he said.

The Government is working towards the creation of a supportive policy environment to support and encourage linkages between domestic producers and local and foreign investors, he said.

JAMPRO’s Business to Business Linkages events have been bearing fruit, he said. The local linkages event held this February, and two similar events held in Negril and Montego Bay last year, brought together some 77 buyers from 51 hotel properties and restaurants and 78 suppliers. These events, he noted, generated 48 leads and the confirmation of 29 orders to date.

For the financial year 2010/11, the minister said, JAMPRO facilitated 90 business linkage contracts valued at $50 million.

“The agency has been very proactive in its early targeting of new foreign investors who are introduced to the options and opportunities for buying local,” Tufton said.

JAMPRO has also developed a national linkages programme currently under review and is scheduled for implementation in the near future, he said. “This programme outlines a strategic approach to building linkages between the investing community and Jamaican firms and involves the creation of a public-private sector oversight committee.”

This committee will be driven by the private sector with support for major government stakeholders who will guide the overall direction of the programme, provide advice and ensure that maximum benefits are derived for the national economy.

Caption 1: Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association president Evelyn Smith (right), Delaine Morgan vice president of trade and business development at JAMPRO (left) and Patricia Ashley of the Devon Resource Centre examine the produce on display from the Christiana Potato Growers Association during Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) which was held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre from Sunday through to Tuesday.