Doing business globally will be hampered if the region does not have unified standards on products and services. This was reiterated by several officials speaking during the opening ceremony of the 28th Meeting of the Council of CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards & Quality (CROSQ) on Monday, April 4, 2016 at the Montserrat Cultural Centre.
CROSQ’s Chief Executive Officer Deryck Omar said Montserrat has been on a path to rebirth for the past 10 years and this is the right time to be rebuilding a nation with a foundation of standards and quality.
“Everyone is looking everywhere else but at the Caribbean,” Omar told the gathering. He added that the priority must be to achieve regional competitiveness and promote national standards which are adhered to by all.
The CEO said no one ever thinks standards are important until a container of goods is stopped from entering a port. He commended the Hon. Minister of Trade Claude Hogan and the government for their insight and desire to rebuild Montserrat on a quality system. Omar noted that it will be very difficult to build and market a product’s brand if the Montserrat brand is not strong.
He described travelling to Montserrat as a “real chore”, adding that shipping must be even more challenging. The official said having the CROSQ council members on island to understand the Montserrat situation would allow them to ensure the island’s needs were considered as the regional standards policy is developed and promoted.
Chairman of CROSQ, Jose Trejo said in his address that developing a quality infrastructure will come at a cost but will not outweigh the benefits to be gained by having them in place.
CROSQ is a network of the 15 National Standards Bureau of the Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It consists of the CROSQ Council, comprising the directors of all the bureau; the CROSQ Secretariat, headquartered in Barbados, and a number of Special Technical Committees.
Quality Infrastructure refers to the services of standards and technical regulations, metrology (the science of weights and measurements), accreditation, quality assessment and certification that make it possible for goods and services to be traded and accepted on the international market, and make them safe for local consumption and use as well.
