LOCAL small business owners have expressed that they are encountering too many barriers when trying to capitalise on the international export market.

On Wednesday, which was the opening day of the 9th staging of the ‘Christmas in July’ trade show, a two-day event held at the AC Hotel Kingston, the Jamaica Observer spoke with a few of the participants who expressed that exporting has proved to be a challenging task.

“Exporting feels as though if you don’t know someone, it’s tough to get it done,” shared Carmen Hope-Thomas, CEO of Zipporah, a hair and skincare brand.

Hope-Thomas’s experience appeared to be the same for many of the 175 participants at the show. It was a challenge to find entrepreneurs who were actively exporting. Most of the local artisans, manufacturers and suppliers were either not interested in exporting because of the difficulties associated with the process, while others just never gave it a thought. Some shared that they weren’t ready to take on the export market while another set appeared to be waiting for the opportunity to fall into t

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/export-woes/