Ministerial Trade Mission to Dominican Republic

Kingston, Jamaica, Senator the Honourable Aubyn Hill, Minister of Industry Investment and Commerce will lead a Trade Mission to the Dominican Republic (DR) from March 28 to April 1, 2023, comprising of almost 30 senior personnel from 17 private sector companies, 4 Government entities, along with members of the Dominican Republic Embassy in Jamaica forming the delegation. This forms part of the expanding initiative envisioned by Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, with the support of JAMPRO, to build sustainable export opportunities both inside and outside the Caribbean region.

Jamaica’s business delegation will include companies such as Grace Kennedy, Dolla Finance, Konnexx Services, City Fusion, Resolve IT, Dairy Industries Jamaica and Jamaica Broilers, among others. The companies are seeking new export opportunities in goods and services in the Dominican Republic (DR), one of the richest economies in the Caribbean. Minister Hill emphasized, “Doing business with our Caribbean neighbours and the fact that we share common priorities and objectives is very important for us to increase the bilateral trade investment equitably to exploit the potential of both economies.”

This Trade Mission follows a visit of a delegation of DR businesspersons to Jamaica from February 21 to February 24, 2023, for the inaugural Dominican Republic week in Jamaica. This event saw the participation of Dominican Republic’s leading companies in the hotel, logistics and construction sectors. Businesses and businesspersons met, networked, and explored investment opportunities on the island. JAMPRO has been working with the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Jamaica and the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica to organize this trade mission from Jamaica which is a historic new chapter in commercial relations between the two countries.

President of JAMPRO, Mrs. Shullette Cox, stated that “The Mission is perfectly timed as we now can continue to strengthen the bilateral collaboration in tourism and trade, among other areas with the aim of bringing tangible benefits to both countries. JAMPRO will also be meeting with potential investors in various sectors such as Tourism, Special Economic Zones, Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicles and Outsourcing. JAMPRO has worked closely to facilitate the buildout of numerous hotel projects in Jamaica and more specifically, Dominican Republic hotel company, Viva Wyndham recently announced during the inaugural Dominican Republic week in Jamaica, the start of a 1,000-room resort hotel project in Rose Hall near Negril.

Meetings for the mission are set for Senator the Honourable Aubyn Hill to engage his counterparts in the Dominican Republic government, as well as business leaders to promote more investment in Jamaica. In addition, numerous Business-to-Business (B2B) meeting are being scheduled by JAMPRO, for members of the delegation to meet with targeted companies and government entities in DR, to enable the building of business relationships and the exploration of mutual opportunities.

Jamaican Exports to DR was US$2.73 Million during 2021, according to the United Nations Comtrade database on international trade, with beverages, spirits, vinegar and inorganic chemicals heading that trade list. This represents a 16% increase over the comparable period for 2020, when exports to DR totalled US$2.35 million. Exports from the DR to Jamaica in the corresponding 2021 period amounted to US$85.6 million (UN Comtrade), making DR Jamaica’s third largest trading partner in the Caribbean region.

Investment opportunities in Jamaica have piqued the interest of businesspersons in DR, as over the past few years DR companies such as Fersan-Newport, IMCA-Caterpillar, Magna Motors and Grupo Theresstra have all found success in Jamaica. In Jamaica, there are numerous businesses that have exported services to the Dominican Republic who have flourished, such as Jamaica Producers Ltd. and JMMB. This further provides strong rationale on the objectives of the mission and the planned activities to facilitate economic growth for Jamaica.