Shaw presses for increased coffee production
AUDLEY SHAW, minister of industry, commerce, agriculture and fisheries, is to undertake an analysis of the root causes of the consistent decline in coffee production over the past two decades, which has reduced the country to becoming a net importer of coffee.
“I would be downright hypocritical if I did not say publicly that at this time, I’m quite disappointed that coffee, which is one of the areas of global growth, in Jamaica is declining,“the minister told Friday’s handover of Coffee Lizer, a crop-specific brand of fertiliser developed by Newport Fersan Jamaica Limited.
He went on to lament that production of Blue Mountain Coffee has fallen from a high of 500,000 boxes per annum 20 years ago to approximately 200,000 boxes
“And we are lucky this year if we will achieve 200,000 boxes – less than half of what we did 20 years ago,” the minister said.
“The picture for High Mountain is much worse because 20 years ago we produced 4000,000 boxes, and how much are we producing now? 20,000 boxes – that is five per cent of what we produced 20 years ago. So what is happening?” he questioned.
“Too much ginnal,” was the quick response from a coffee farmer.
The occasion was the official handing over of some of the 321 metric tonnes of Coffee Lizer by Newport Fersan to nine coffee entities, which, in turn, have been distributing to farmers. This is part of the Fertiliser Assistance Supplies Training programme launched in October 2015 by the agriculture minister. However, the portfolio minister made it clear he was not happy with the state of the industry.
“How can we have the best coffee in the world, and the global coffee market is growing, and the quantity of coffee grown in Jamaica and what we reap in Jamaica is going the other way, going down. Something nuh right,” a frustrated Shaw said.
He said that as minister, he would not stand by and watch coffee production decline in Jamaica and imports increase while the market grows globally.
“We cannot continue like this. Our farmers have been suffering, and we have been allowing the full, open wholesale importation of coffee, and I have been reliably informed that up to the other day, completely duty-free. How can we be importing coffee duty-free into Jamaica while our coffee industry is being destroyed? It cannot work,” he declared.