Roseau, November 19, 2020 – The Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce (DAIC) and the Dominica Export Import Agency (DEXIA) partnered in hosting a booth at the Absolutely Caribbean Virtual Expo hosted by the Caribbean Export Development Agency on November 17th and 18th, 2020 to showcase eight (8) export-ready manufacturers. The manufactures were the Benjo Seamoss and Agro-processing Ltd, Dominica Arts and Craft Producers Association, DCP Successors Limited, Éclat Nova Luxuries, Jaydees Naturals, Jolly’s Manufacturing, Layou Park Nature Farms, and Live Your Nature.
In 2018, more than €26 billion worth of goods and services were exported worldwide from the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM), of which 17.6% were exported to Europe. As such, this first-ever Absolutely Caribbean Virtual Expo provided a unique opportunity for Caribbean and European counterparts to meet virtually, foster relationships and be inspired to develop trade. This Expo focused on natural food products, natural cosmetics, nutraceuticals, sauces and condiments and alcoholic beverages from some of the hottest companies from the Caribbean.
Executive Director of DAIC, Lizra Fabien shared, “Over the two days of the Expo, we sought to connect our manufacturers to European buyers as well as to buyers from other territories. We are pleased to confirm that we have received purchase and business inquiries about our featured manufacturers and have since connected these manufactures to European buyers.”
Fabien further shared that at this Expo, there were specially designed sessions hosted to provide our manufacturers and businesses with best practices to enhance their knowledge in trading within the European Market. One session in particular on Food Trends after COVID-19 shared that sectors like hospitality and tourism are moving fast to adapt what they have on offer and overcome the challenges. This session, hosted by Alliances for Action, presented a review on the main food trends and opportunities for the future as well as explored how the Caribbean food industry can effectively navigate these changes.
Mrs. Sharon Rolle, Enterprise Development Officer at DEXIA remarked, “DEXIA is pleased to have collaborated with the DAIC in hosting a booth at the Absolutely Caribbean Virtual Expo 2020. We believe that the event provided a wonderful opportunity for Dominican producers to take advantage of this unique and innovative event to showcase their export ready products. We are extremely pleased with the networking and the connections that were made during the two-day event. Our products on show were of excellent quality and met international standards. We want to encourage our Producers to continue to work on perfecting their products, introduce attractive and innovative packaging and at all times ensuring that we consistently produce high quality items that are competitive on the domestic, regional and international markets. “
DAIC and DEXIA encourages businesses to take advantage of the opportunities made available in exporting to Europe. The partners remain committed to support local businesses in taking full advantage of these opportunities.
Connect to the Absolutely Caribbean Expo at expo.absolutelycaribbean.com. For more information, contact the DAIC at 1(767)449-1962 or DEXIA at 1(767) 448-2780.
