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Contact:
John Emmanuel
Monday, October 28, 2002 – The Ministry of Commerce, Tourism, Investment
and Consumer Affairs in partnership with the St. Lucia Manufacturers Association
and other public and private sector institutions, are getting ready to launch a
new phase of the buy local campaign. Marketing specialist at the Ministry Lea
Frederick says the renewed campaign set to get underway on 31st of October,
2002, is aimed at adding increased impetus to the old endeavour of getting St.
Lucians to buy more locally produced goods and services.
According to Frederick, “the renewed buy local campaign is expected to be a key
initiative geared towards developing and sustaining a culture of buying local in
the St. Lucian consumer. The campaign is also aimed at instilling a philosophy
of buying local, one that has not been present to this date.” She says in light
of that, “we at the Ministry and our partners will be developing a number of
programmes aimed at informing St. Lucians about the importance of buying local,
like what are the benefits of buying local, the increased number of jobs and
their sustainability, along with a higher level of service, education and health
for consumers.”
A critical player in the reinvigorated campaign is the St. Lucia Bureau of
Standards, which will ensure that locally manufactured good meet recommended
quality standards. The Ministry of Commerce views the campaign as a timely
intervention for the survival and sustainability of domestic industry in an
environment which has become increasingly competitive.
St. Lucia is signatory to a number of trading agreements like the Free Trade
Area of the Americas (FTAA), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the General
Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT), which are expected to bring with them
increased competition to local producers of goods and services. The re-launched
campaign will undergo various stages with different groupings leading the charge
at different times.
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