Trade Minister Mariano Browne urged businessmen to look beyond Caricom and pay attention to the world market.

He was speaking at the launch of Nutrimix Flour Mills’s new premium line of flour at Point Lisas yesterday.

He said that moving into other markets required the development of product lines which can compete effectively.

’Quality is a major component of trade,’ he said. The development of a new product line required vast amounts of working capital and resources, he added.

He said that local companies have forged ahead to discover new strategies for survival and success within the current economic climate.

He pointed to a $9.5 million investment by KC Confectionery in a new automated production line and TYE Ltd’s introduction of a state-of-the-art automated sheet metal fabricating system.

He said that the companies demonstrated the tenacity needed to ride the economic waves of uncertainty and to contend with formidable competitors.

With an average growth rate of eight per cent per year for the past seven years, Trinidad and Tobago has one of the highest growth rates and per capita incomes in Latin America, he added.

’This year presented a challenge for our economy due to the global economic downturn, and even though our economy benefited from a growing trade surplus, we are well aware of the need to increase our diversification drive and our overall competitiveness as a business centre and investment location,’ he said.