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Logistics Fair

Martinique to host key logistics trade fair

The first Caribbean Transport and Logistics Trade Fair (CTLF) is being held in Martinique from 11 to 13 May at the island’s Madiana Congress Center.

This landmark event is being organized by Cluster GAT Caraïbes Logistique et Transports, a non-profit organization based in Martinique and created in late 2012 to bring together private and public-sector stakeholders from across the greater Caribbean region with supply chain interests. The event will involve some 100 exhibitors from across the region and is expected to draw between 5,000 and 8,000 attendees.

Cluster GAT Caraïbes provides a neutral framework for dialogue and cooperation for those in transport and logistics and the forthcoming trade fair is an obvious and long-needed extension of the organization’s original aims and ambitions.

Logisticsfair

Organizers are quick to point out that, although the show is being hosted in Martinique, CTLF is not a francophone gathering but one for the whole Caribbean, irrespective of language group. Accordingly, CTLF is expected to bring together and showcase various players from the region including those involved in transportation, warehousing, freight forwarding, information systems, import and export consultancy, infrastructure development, logistics and training.

Meeting Point

As a member of the European Union Customs Union, Martinique (and, indeed, Guadeloupe) sees itself as an ideal meeting point between the Caribbean and European markets.

The show comes at a time when the region’s logistics and transportation sectors are set for change as the enlarged Panama Canal opens and new Caribbean ports come on stream. It is the dynamic between the handful of large transport hubs and sub-regional ports that has made logistics so compelling.

The many impressive and diverse partners in CTLF include the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA), the University of the West Indies, Trinidad’s Arthur Lok Jack Business School, the French logistics giant SDV, the Dominica Manufacturers’ Association, the local company Transmadom, Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport and the Port Managers Association of the Caribbean (PMAC) as well as carriers Soreidom and Caribbean Line.

As the organizers state: “In a globalized world and with increasing competition, the development and efficiency of logistics and transport activities are real performance and development levers for the entire region.”

And that is why all those connected with the sector should make a point of being in Martinique in the second week of May.