Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 2016

with established suppliers. Given the importance

that Cubans place on face-to-face meetings, it is a

worthwhileeventforpotentialexporterstoassessthe

Cubanmarketandevaluatetheirforeigncompetition.

“We participated as an exhibitor at FIHAV in

2012 with the support of Caribbean Export. At

this event, we received several proposals from

different clients; they were attracted by the

presentation and characteristics of the products

and we were finally selected by one of them as a

supplier,” says Kapril’s Jimenez who encourages

exporters who want to export to Cuba to attend

the trade show.

To get to the point of being granted access toCuba,

Baron Foods also attended several trade shows

facilitated by Caribbean Export. Within the last

two years, the company was selected by the Saint

Lucia Trade and Export Promotion Agency to

actively pursue entering the Cubanmarket. “This

venture definitely pays dividends and has put us

to the point where we are today,” Ramjattan says.

Doing business with Cuba successfully requires

a great deal of planning, as is the case for entering

any market. Even before starting the export

process, companies must assess their export

readiness, research and select their target market,

have a solid medium to long term strategy with

the financial resources to execute it, and have

sufficient production capacity and flexibility.

When exporting to Cuba, however, businesses

must also determine whether the goods they wish

to export are controlled, prohibited or regulated,

and if a permit, licence or certificate to export is

required. “One must be export ready. Packaging

and labelling must satisfy the Cuban market

and must be able to ship by container loads,”

Ramjattan adds.

The Oficina Nacional de Normalización

(National Standards Office) in Cuba sets

regulations for the labelling and packaging of

consumer goods. Those regulations are enforced

at the port of entry, so products must comply

with labelling requirements prior to being

imported.

Now that it’s ready for its products to hit the

shelves in Cuba, Baron Foods acknowledges the

other challenge will be keeping prices competitive,

as cheap, Chinese products are very prevalent in

the Cuban market.

Kapril has also had to compete with suppliers

from more developed countries with well-

presented and competitively priced products.

But the CEO says the company overcame

that barrier by improving its packaging and

maintaining high quality to expand its market

share.

While it does its part to ensure that the company

reaps success in Cuba, as it has locally and in

Grenada, Dominica, and Trinidad and Tobago,

Baron Foods believes regional governments can do

more to help exporters access the Cubanmarket.

“Governments can continue working with the

Cuban administration to establish protocol

arrangements for manufacturing firms within

the region,” Ramjattan says.

For her part, Jimenez says she wants to see a

trade agreement signed between the Dominican

Republic and Cuba.

Dawne Parris is a media and communications consultant with over 15 years’ experience. She is founder and Managing Director of Impressions Media.

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