News report: BCCEC, JAMPRO working on strengthening trade ties, trade diversification next week

BCCEC
Sep 17
2 min read

Published by Chester Robards, The Nassau Guardian, September 17, 2025

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC), along with the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), are hosting business-to-business (B2B) meetings next week in order to strengthen trade ties and trade diversification between the two countries, CEO of the BCCEC Dr. Leo Rolle said yesterday.

Rolle, who made the comments during an appearance on the radio show “Morning Blend Business” on Guardian Radio 96.9 FM, said these kinds of trade meetings have been paying dividends, especially given that the BCCEC has had many trade missions over the past year.

“JAMPRO, which has been a great partner of The Bahamas and the chamber over the years, reached out to us with an opportunity to bring several businesses to look for diversification of trade and reciprocal agreements between Jamaica and The Bahamas, given our long-standing ties,” said Rolle.

“We saw it as a natural extension to our mission to ensure that we address the needs of the business community, but also diversify products and services. And so on the 24th and 25th (of September), they will be in The Bahamas, conducting those B2B meetings and looking at the opportunities that exist in the market. But also, they will be looking for the opportunity for reciprocal trade, whether that’s trade inbound from Jamaica, or trade outbound to Jamaica through The Bahamas.”

Manager of Non-Food Manufacturing and Extractive Industries Exports at JAMPRO, Ricardo Durrant, said 12 companies will be coming on the trade mission to see what deals can be done with Bahamian companies.

Durrant explained that JAMPRO represents hundreds of exporters that are small, micro, and medium-sized companies looking to enter regional and international markets.

“It’s not just actual non-food coming on the trade mission, it’s also food and beverage, as well as non-food, which looks at cosmetics, and also castor oil, which, you know, is an input into the cosmetics industry,” said Durrant.

“And I’m finding out there are a number of cosmetics producers within the Caribbean. So, we can sell them the inputs, like the raw castor oil or coconut oil.

“And then there are chemicals. There’s a producer there that does chemicals, and also one that manufactures what she calls amenities for gifts. Wooden amenities for hotels and corporate gifts, that sort of thing.”

Rolle said this push for trade diversification extends not only to the Caribbean but also to Africa, India, and China.

The BCCEC recently carried a contingent of businesses to the Intra-African Trade Fair in Algiers, Algeria, where Rolle said many good contacts and leads were made.

Read the news report here: https://www.thenassauguardian.com/business/bccec-jampro-working-on-strengthen-trade-ties-trade-diversification-next-week/article_21b7bf58-5374-4313-88e6-3be1f36b3bb3.html