COFFEE

pound for JCEA members, and as such, they were seeking the Government’s assistance in cushioning the blow to coffee processors.

In letters to Minister of Finance Nigel Clarke and Agriculture Minister Audley Shaw last month, the JCEA requested $170 million in subsidy from the Government as part of the COVID-19 intervention to the industry, funds it proposed should be transferred to JACRA to top up the income of processors on the sale of the 600,000 pounds of coffee to the local producer.

Honouring of the request would still see the processors absorbing a loss of $250 million, but it would allow them to better prepare for the 2020-21 crop yield, JCEA argued.

The coffee exporters are yet to hear back from the Government.

“We are still waiting on a formal response from the Government as it relates to the intervention, so we are sending a follow-up letter to the agriculture minister, and we are scheduling a virtual meeting for next week,” Grant said.

karena.bennett@gleanerjm.com

FILE Norman Grant, president of the Jamaica Coffee Exporters Association.