BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WHILE standalone restaurants and small hotels enjoyed some economic relief earlier this year, the next three years have been set for local ice cream manufacturers to enjoy similar privileges.
This is according to a press release issued yesterday (Dec. 23) by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce regarding a recent cabinet decision to lend relief to local businesses. The release states that all import duty and consumption taxes on raw materials used in the manufacture of ice cream will be waived beginning January 2010 and continuing for a 36-month period.
Also included in the package of incentives is the extension of these concessions to refrigerated delivery vans used as the industry standard for transporting ice cream products.
Minister of Industry and Commerce Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris said the concessionary measures will serve as a stimulus to the local ice cream manufacturing sector. Harris highlighted the importance of the indigenous ice cream manufacturing sector to the economy and outlined some of the challenges the sector faces.
The minister stressed that there is a need to “incentivize and stimulate” the growth of ice cream manufacturing, as such relief can lead to “greater competitiveness” in relation to imported ice cream.
“The measures will assist local ice cream manufacturers in achieving expanded production quantities through the utilization of inactive capacity that several local ice cream manufacturing plants presently possess,” Harris said.
An increased competitive stature would enable ice cream manufactures to earn a larger share of the market in the domestic economy, said Harris.
He encouraged entrepreneurs in this sector to take advantage of the concessions and to look globally for additional trading prospects.
In early June, after considering recommendations made by the St. Kitts-Nevis Hotel and Tourism Association (HTA), the Cabinet approved a stimulus package for full-service standalone restaurants that granted duty-free concessions for a period of 12 months. Small hotels received similar concessions on a list of selected items.
“My ministry is always willing to assist local industries to help them grow and develop, and where possible we have been articulating a responsive policy framework to incentivize the private sector,” Harris concluded.
