Share your love of coffee by supporting the farmers
AS ONE of the more than 70 coffee-producing countries globally, Jamaica is ranked among the top producers of gourmet coffee with our famous Jamaica Blue Mountain brand being one of the most soughtafter brands.
Since the arrival of the first coffee plant in Jamaica in 1728, the island has steadily established itself as a famed producer of this beloved beverage and has been able to carve out niche markets in the process.
Over those years, coffee has become a very important foreign exchange earner averaging approximately US$30M annually between 2018 and 2020. At the same time, the industry has contributed significantly to the socio-economic life of rural areas where it provides direct and indirect employment.
As we celebrate International Coffee Day 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, with support from the pertinent agencies, will embark on the development of the coffee value chain so as to strengthen the availability and appeal of the Jamaican coffee brands and improve the income of our coffee farmers.
We are also working on strengthening the brand protection mechanisms by way of registering Jamaica’s brands in more jurisdictions as well as increasing our policing of the brands through the support of the Madrid Protocol, to which the country has become a recent signatory.
International Coffee Day is therefore an important opportunity for Jamaican coffee lovers to join the rest of the world and share their love of the beverage and support the thousands of Jamaican coffee farmers and their families whose livelihoods depend on this aromatic crop.