Manufacturing Strategy Launched

(ZIZ News) — The government has unveiled a new plan to boost the competitiveness of the local manufacturing sector.

Government and manufacturing officials gathered at the Marriott Resort on Tuesday for the official launch of the National Manufacturing Strategy.

Giving an overview of the strategy, Chairman of the Manufacturers Division, Lincoln Maynard said the main of objective is to have in St .Kitts – Nevis sustainable profitable manufacturing that is internationally competitive.

“The strategy document clearly outlines the critical areas identified in a Manufacturing Needs Assessment Study conducted in St. Kitts and Nevis. And these major needs identified include fiscal constraints, high energy costs, raw material procurement challenges, human resource and training needs, government/manufacturing sector interface, agri-processing challenges, and financing,” he said.

The launch comes after three years of discussion between the Ministry of Trade and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Minister of Trade, the Hon Richard Skerritt said collaboration between the public and private sectors is always beneficial to the nation.

“In my many years of experience both in Government and as a former member and leader of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce I have an abundance of evidence that public/private sector collaboration always brings good results; and I emphasize that…always brings good results. It might bring some disharmony along the way. It might bring some disagreements and it might identify some new issues. But in the final output it always brings good results,” he said.

The goals of the strategy include boosting the manufacturing sector’s input to GDP over the next six years; creating 650 new jobs by 2020 and attracting environmentally sustainable manufacturing to St. Kitts and Nevis.