Silvera secures second JMEA presidency with five-point plan centred on industry data

President Kathryn Silvera has outlined a five-point programme for her second term at the helm of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA), with expanded industry data collection positioned as a central pillar of the plan. She unveiled the agenda on Wednesday following her re-election at the association's annual general meeting.

Silvera said work to build a stronger intelligence base for the sector had already started this year. "This year, we began laying the foundation for stronger manufacturing industry intelligence that will ultimately help us better understand production capacity, export readiness, employment trends, market opportunities, and sector performance," she told members.

The data push sits alongside export diversification, skills development, labour policy reform, and deeper partnerships. Together, the priorities are meant to give the JMEA a firmer footing when it advocates on issues facing manufacturers and exporters. "Our vision is simple: to move from assumptions to evidence, from evidence to action, and from action to results," Silvera said.

The association also views richer sector data as a way to pull more local firms into tourism-related supply chains. Silvera offered a practical example: "Imagine a developer planning a new 1,200-room hotel asks whether Jamaican manufacturers can supply the mattresses needed for the project. Instead of guessing, the JMEA could use industry data to confidently show that our manufacturers have the capacity to meet the demand, turning the conversation from 'Can local companies do it?' to 'How do we ensure local manufacturers get the contract?'"

Efforts to bridge manufacturing and tourism are already under way. In May, 110 manufacturers held sessions with 30 buyers from the tourism sector at the Montego Bay Convention Centre. Separately, the Road to Retail programme linked 55 manufacturers with 14 distributors and retailers.

Sharper industry intelligence, the JMEA argues, will sharpen both its policy influence and members' ability to spot commercial openings. "When JMEA sends a survey, when we ask for your data, that is not bureaucracy — it is ammunition," Silvera said. "It is how we walk into a room with the Ministry of Finance or the MIIC (Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce) and make an argument they cannot dismiss."

That method is already feeding into advocacy. Through its Energy Committee, the association polled 47 member firms and used the responses to draft a six-point energy platform. Among its goals is cutting electricity costs by roughly half by 2032. The platform also backs wider access to renewable-energy financing, lower General Consumption Tax on manufacturers' power bills, wheeling arrangements, and a review of nuclear energy as part of Jamaica's long-term energy mix.

"If you ask any manufacturer in this room what keeps them up at night, electricity costs will come up in the first sentence," Silvera said.

The new agenda lands after a difficult stretch for the productive sector. The JMEA's 2025 annual report shows manufacturing exports fell 4.5 per cent to US$803.4 million. Even so, the sector still accounted for 53 per cent of domestic exports. It employed 85,500 people and posted output growth of 1.1 per cent over the year.

Much of the association's 2025 work was shaped by Hurricane Melissa, which interrupted operations, damaged facilities, and strained supply chains across several parishes. Input from 78 member companies helped guide recovery measures, including a J$10-million micro, small and medium enterprise recovery grant fund and broader private-sector support efforts.

Silvera returns alongside Deputy President Cecil Foster, managing director of FosRich Group, and Treasurer Damion Dodd, chief financial controller and corporate secretary at Seprod Limited. Members also returned eight directors: Dmitri Dawkins, Aswad Morgan, Lisa Johnston, Marc Frankson, Conroy Rose, Tamii Brown, Archie Williams, and John O. Minott.

Closing her remarks, Silvera tied data collection directly to opportunity. "Data is power because it is not just about producing reports," she said. "It is about unlocking opportunities."