Floridas Trinidadian-born lieutenant governor will head a sales million next month to the islands nation of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the Sunshine States 23rd largest trading partner.
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll and Enterprise Florida will fly from Miami on August 5 to the Caribbean nation that is also the birthplace of calypso and chutney and which received $557.4 million in exports from Florida last year.
Known as the largest and strongest economy in the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago has one of the highest growth rates and per capita incomes in the region which positions the country as a hub for U.S. business activities, states the flyer Enterprise Florida has used to sell the trip.
Big on tourism, the nation -- the fifth largest producer of liquefied natural gas,located north and east of Venezuela -- imports heavily from Florida in areas of oil, agriculture, automotive parts and electronics.
The governor's office directed comment to Enterprise Florida.
Stuart Doyle, spokesman for Enterprise Florida, said in an email that the goal of the mission is to expand trade between Florida and Trinidad-Tobago by helping companies penetrate this Caribbean market.
"We really want to strengthen the Florida-TT relationship because TT heavily relies on Florida exports. Its a vital niche market for us," Dolye stated.
Those on the mission -- other than Carroll paying $450 to $600 per person -- will spend two full days at the capital city of Port of Spain on the northwest coast of the island of Trinidad.
Last year, Carroll went to England and Spain with Space Florida officials and fronted a trade mission to South Africa that the governor's office declared was expected to create nearly $40 million in sales for Florida.
Carroll visited Brazil and Taiwan as a state lawmaker.
She still has miles to go to catch Gov. Rick Scott, who recently completed a trade mission to England.
Scott went to Spain with Enterprise Florida in May and headed four trade-related trips last year, each with Enterprise Florida: Panama in March, Canada in June, Brazil in October and Israel in December.
A trade mission to Colombia, one of the states largest trading partners and expected to be a bigger player once of Panama Canal expansion is completed in 2015, is in the works for the end of the year.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
