“Whenever we go to the UK,
Canada and the United States, it’s
tremendous to see the amount of
national pride that Saint Lucians
have,” Daniel stated. “They really
want to buy more of our products.
One of the things we want to focus
on is how to get these products
to them easily because we don’t
have a physical presence in most
of those markets. So we’ll be
exploring e-commerce platforms in
the next year.”
With the digital currency pilot
being rolled out by the Eastern
Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB),
Daniel said the new method for
transacting business is a huge leap
in trade facilitation: “I think it’s
an excellent initiative. One of the
things that our distributors and
buyers in the foreign markets are
saying to us is that they want to
transact business without having
to use cash. The industrialized
world has moved in that direction
already. The problem is we didn’t
have those platforms available here
before, so we’re very excited to see
what comes out of the pilot that
the ECCB is undertaking.”
Meanwhile, Export Saint Lucia’s
Chairperson, Marguerite Desir,
welcomes the NES, saying it has
some “smart objectives”. Any
plan or strategy, she added, needs
to have accompanying smart
objectives to be successful. Saint
Lucia, she said, needs to capitalize
on its export opportunities.
“We feel there are lots of
opportunities in Saint Lucia for
us to export a lot more (and) to
build on a lot of the industries
that we have,” Desir told SLYOU
Magazine. “We may be small, but
we’re actually big in surprise. We
have quality products that are
made right here in Saint Lucia
and quality people in various
fields who can go out there and
showcase their talents.”
“We’re beefing up the different
industries to ensure that people
not only get employment, but that
the country also gets recognition
by exporting quality goods and
services,” said Desir. “We’re also
looking at working with some
shipping lines whereby we can
consolidate our goods that are
being exported.”
Many people – especially the youth
– have difficulties finding a paying
job, leading to many turning to
illicit means to survive. However,
many are finding that tapping into
their creative energies can realize
positive dividends and economic
sustenance. Which is why Desir
encourages creative thinkers to
become entrepreneurs.
“I think entrepreneurship is
important. If people have creative
ideas, we welcome them to bring
these ideas forward so that
we can give them the support
they need, such as labeling and
technical support. Innovation
and economies of scale are also
important,” Desir explained.
For Bonaventure Jn. Baptiste,
President of the Praslin Sea Moss
Farmers Association, the NES adds
more value to his Association.
Registered in 1998, the Association
has grown exponentially – from a
time when many of the people who
now make a decent living farming
sea moss were living below the
poverty line.
“I saw sea moss as something that
would fill the void that was created
by the declining banana industry,”
Jn. Baptiste said at the official
launch of the new NES. “Soon after,
we found that many people in the
Praslin, Mon Repos and La Pointe
areas, who were either banana
farmers or farm workers, ended up
in the situation where they couldn’t
put bread on their tables. They
were either underemployed or
unemployed.”
Jn. Baptiste managed to source
some funds to help train people
to plant sea moss. After recruiting
about 100 people for the project
initially, the plan was to implement
quality standards to get the
Association certified to export their
product.
The Trade Export and Promotion
Agency (TEPA) – now Export Saint
Lucia – offered the Association
technical and other assistance,
including not only helping out
with the export process but also
teaching members how to do it
themselves. Export Saint Lucia also
set up a Facebook page for the
Association which now receives
communication and orders from
around the world. Today, the
Association has over 200 members
who benefit directly from the sea
moss industry.
“With the help of Export Saint
Lucia, our business has taken a
180-degree turn,” Jn. Baptiste
said. “Today, the problem the
Association has is not having too
much sea moss that we cannot
sell, but actually one whereby
we’re getting too many people
wanting to buy the product and us
not having enough.”
Desir, who is also President of
the Saint Lucia Manufacturers
Association (SMA), said Export
Saint Lucia works closely with the
Ministry of Agriculture to rebrand
local bananas in an attempt to
recapture green gold’s former days
of glory. Tourism, too, will receive
heavy focus under the NES.
Bonaventure Jn. Baptiste, President, Praslin Sea Moss Farmers
Association and Jerson Badal, Director of Client Services of Export
Saint Lucia.
www.slyoumag.com | February - April 2020
SL-YOU | It’s All About Business 15