As we approach the festive season, the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association (JMA) Ltd message to the Jamaican people is to 'Buy Jamaican this Christmas'. We are urging consumers to support local products, which are competitively priced and of the highest quality, when shopping this Christmas season. Buying locally made products each time we shop can make all the difference.

The effects of the global economic crisis on Jamaica has brought to the fore the need to strengthen our productive base to create wealth and build the economy. Buying Jamaican will help to save and create Jamaican jobs, retain well-needed foreign exchange and reduce the country's huge trade deficit.

Variety of products

Local products extend beyond agro foods; there is a variety of products that can be purchased from local manufacturers this Christmas, such as paints, soaps, shower gels, ropes, furniture, art and craft, candles, juices, rums, beers, water, snacks, sauces and spices, ice cream, chocolate, paving stones, tiles, windows, doors, water tanks, fashion jewellery and apparel, T-shirts, as well as casual and sporting wear.

Many of our local products bear the 'Product of Jamaica' or 'Buy Jamaican ... Build Jamaica' seal, and so Jamaicans are encouraged to look out for these symbols and buy these products, as we will all benefit.

For Jamaica to emerge from this economic crisis and see positive growth, we must be willing to support our own, to increase the demand for local products and stimulate expansion. This Christmas season and beyond, let us take responsibility for our consumption, and make a choice to buy Jamaican and, by extension, keep our fellow Jamaicans employed.

The power to positively transform Jamaica's economic and social landscape is in our hands, so buy Jamaican and build Jamaica.

I am, etc.,

Omar Azan

JMA, president