St. Kitts And Nevis Exploring Trade With Cuba

St. Kitts And Nevis Exploring Trade With Cuba
Written by Toni Frederick
Category: Local
Published: 14 November 2016

St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): St. Kitts and Nevis is preparing to explore
trade opportunities with Cuba, says International Trade Minister
Lindsay Grant, back from a recent trade mission to that country.

"I was glad that even...small manufacturers...the persons who prepare
Brimstone Pepper Sauce, they were there in Cuba. In fact...the
potential business that they would have generated from Cuba, they're not
going to be able to fulfill and so for them now... that's tremendous
growth for them. So they will now have to put whatever they need to put
in place to see if they can provide in some way the opportunities that
they would have been able to capture."

The Minister said that other possible exports from St. Kitts and Nevis
could be beer and possibly bottled water.

"So they're opportunities," he told WINN.

Minister Grant led a small delegation to Cuba's 34th Trade Fair, which
included members from the private sector.

The Minister notes that there is also an opportunity in St. Kitts and
Nevis for Cuban manufacturers.

"In terms the space that we're creating, it's not just one that people
are capturing just for St. Kitts, meaning that we have treaties....which
[allow] manufacturers to get into the European market."

Cuban manufacturers could establish plants in the Federation to take
advantage of such arrangements.

St. Kitts and Nevis also has ongoing trade negotiations with Guyana and
Brazil, the Minister reminded.

"That will open up tremendous opportunity for manufacturers."

The Chambers of Commerce for St. Kitts and Nevis and Cuba are expecting
to sign a memorandum of understanding designed to facilitate cooperation.

"The world is getting smaller. It's about cooperation in terms of your
productivity and so we are hoping because of all these initiatives
something will...happen," Minister Grant said.

Source: WINN FM - St. Kitts and Nevis Exploring Trade with Cuba -
http://www.winnfm.com/news/local/19451-st-kitts-and-nevis-exploring-trade-with-cuba