National Export Strategy enters Phase II

Phase II of the National Export Strategy exercise, was officially launched in Saint Lucia on Nov. 13.
Representatives presented a Strategic Trade Development Roadmap (SDTR) that aims to improve Saint Lucia’s trade and business sector.
Phase I of the National Export Strategy exercise was launched in 2016, and focused on the key columns for export development at the micro level. The second phase of the strategy will involve a deeper analytical component where the actual sector strategies will be developed.
Jacqueline Emmanuel-Flood, Chief Executive Officer of the Trade Export Promotion Agency (TEPA), the organization charged with the mandate to implement the strategy, said: “Really an export strategy is the work of the Government of Saint Lucia, but because the strategy is so important for the work that we do, we have been given the task by the government to be the coordinators. And so we are the agency that works with the ITC—the International Trade Centre—that provides most of the expertise that we need, but we coordinate between them and the Saint Lucian public, and the private sector, and so today we were able to convene and take a look at where we are in developing the strategy.”
A ten-member delegation from the International Trade Centre visited Saint Lucia to present the strategy and to continue the work commenced under Phase I. The delegation is led by Economist Alberto Amurgo Pachec,
“We are not here to dictate what Saint Lucia should be doing, Saint Lucia has to decide. We’re here to provide the necessary elements so that firm decisions can be made, and to accompany the process to make sure that all the arguments are balanced, and that a sound expert strategy is produced in the end,” he said.
The development and eventual implementation of a national export strategy is vital for Saint Lucia’s marketing approach, and for making prudent decision about which sectors should be given priority.