Exporting to the EU may seem daunting. There are many rules, regulations and procedures to abide by. Fact is, there are already many Jamaican companies successfully exporting to the EU. This page should provide exporters and potential exporters with support in their efforts to export as it relates to export requirements (standards), as well as other useful resources.

The Export Helpdesk

The EU has committed itself to helping developing countries grow through supporting their export efforts. It does this through the undertaking of preferential trading arrangements, like the CARIFORUM-EC Economic Partnership Agreement and by providing developmental support. The EU has also established the Export Helpdesk. The Export Helpdesk provides exporters and potential exporters in developing countries with the information that they need to fully benefits from the export opportunities available. This includes: requirements (general, product-specific); customs tariffs and trade regimes/agreements; VAT & excise duty rates and trade statistics. This Export Helpdesk video provides additional information on the resources available from the web platform, as well as a brief tutorial on how to utilize it. Start here!

My Export provides product specific requirements, tariffs and details on preferential arrangements. In order to access the information related to your product, you will require a tariff code. EU tariff codes are based upon the Harmonized System or HS, a nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organisation and comprising about 5000 commodity groups, organised in a hierarchical structure. The HS codes for common Jamaican exports have been provided.

Useful HS Codes

• Yams (various) – 0714301000

• Fresh Pawpaws (papayas) – 0807200000

• Akee (Blighia sapida) - 08109000000

• Sauces and Mixed Seasoning – 2103909080

• Roasted Coffee – 0901110000

• Cheddar Cheese - 0406902100

• Scotch Bonnet Peppers - 0709609900

Your HS code can be looked up here.

Export Helpdesk

Product-Specific Fact Sheets

The Export Helpdesk has developed product specific fact sheets that offer summaries of the main export requirements for coffee, cotton, t-shirts, rum, fruit juices and shrimps.

Coffee

T-Shirts

 

Juice

 

Rum

 

Shrimps

The CBI (Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries), an agency commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands has developed over 350 product specific fact sheets for exporting to the EU, covering both goods and services. These fact sheets not only outline product requirements, but address product demand, trends and opportunities, competition, niche opportunities and link to additional resources as well. In some instances, market specific reports are also available. Five fact sheets relevant to Jamaican exporters are noted below. A more comprehensive list of fact sheets can be found under Additional Resources.

For more information on exporting to the EU, please see Additional Resources.

Resources