Productive Sector Council to educate on economic ‘behavior, critical reasoning’
The heads of three main trade organizations announced the launch of the Productive Sector Council, an entity created to educate the government and the community on the behavior and critical reasoning of Puerto Rico’s fiscal development as seen by the primary economic sectors.
During a news conference, the presidents of the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association, the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association and the Puerto Rico Farm Bureau, noted that those three sectors represent more than 50 percent of the islands’ providing the foundation for socio-economic development and fiscal stability, said PRMA President Rodrigo Masses.
The Productive Sector Council brings together these sectors: agriculture, tourism, manufacturing I and II — conventional and export of services, which also includes production and distribution of renewable energy.
“The Productive Sector Council represents a great effort to continue our work to educate various public and private sectors on the contribution and opportunities offered by sectors such as tourism, agriculture and manufacturing in Puerto Rico’s economic development ” said PRHTA Chairman Miguel Vega, noting tourism contributes more than $365 million to the local economy and generates about 80,000 jobs.
This new organization will provide a vehicle to provide information and join efforts to contribute to the goal of achieving the modernization of Puerto Rico’s agriculture, advance the island’s goal of food self-sufficiency and strengthen agro-industrial development.
“Without agriculture there is no food, so this Council allows us to deliver a clear message of what the agricultural sector can contribute to the island’s economic development, considering that as an industry we provide raw materials to tourism and manufacturing,” said Farm Bureau President Héctor Iván Cordero.
The Productive Sector Council’s efforts will be overseen by Luis Torres-Llompart, a CPA that has headed several local trade groups, including the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce.
The three associations combined represent more than 300,000 jobs and make up Puerto Rico’s primary economy — more than 40 percent of all private jobs.
