Clarke MANUFACTURERS AND exporters have been hard hit by the severe weather system that has been dumping several inches of rainfall on the island daily since the last 10 days.
While those affected are still counting their losses, Gleaner sources indicate the final figure could run into millions of dollars.
For manufacturers who, like residential customers, have been hit with numerous power cuts over the last five days, the situation has been compounded by power outages lasting for as long as five hours.
The Jamaica Public Service Company, the light-and-power provider which is already battling electricity distribution and generating problems, has blamed the bad weather for aggravating the situation.
"We have been affected by both the rain and the power cuts," Clarence Clarke, president of the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association, told The Gleaner yesterday. "Even the JMA staff has been affected," he said, explaining that the rain had prevented several employees from turning up for work. This has hampered the association in its efforts to get preliminary figures of the losses suffered by its members.
Beverley Lopez, president of the Jamaica Exporters' Association, said it was a "tale of gloom and woe" for exporters.
"The fields are flooded so nothing can be reaped and the roads are bad," she said. "I see this affecting us at least for the next three months; the residual effects of the rain will be quite damaging".
Mrs. Lopez noted that it was regrettable that the flooding had occurred at this time as the produce sector was the only one experiencing growth.
To support her claim, she pointed to statistics which show non-traditional exports down 30 per cent in January when compared to the previous period while the export of produce was up nine per cent. For all of 2001, non-traditional exports were down 12 per cent while the produce sector was up 24 per cent.
The sector earned US$6.9 million ($331.2 million) in January alone.
