Howard Walker, Staff Reporter
LOCAL COMPANIES are forking out between $200,000 and $2.2 million a month to secure their plants and products from drug contamination and theft.
Business operators say not only do they have to contend with the relatively high and uncompetitive interest rates, high cost of factory rentals, lack of proper equipment and retooling, but also the extremely high cost of security.
"We have a budget for $26 million ($2.2 million a month) for the year. At times it fluctuates but it's a significant cost. We try to get value for money," said Bentley Jones, group security manager at Caribbean Broilers Group which operates from Spanish Town with its main office at Constant Spring Road.
The Caribbean Broilers Group which exports chicken products and animal feeds to Suriname and Cuba, says they have to have security on the wharves to prevent contamination of their products.
"The police are always involved. We try to monitor from the bagging area until it is ready to be loaded onto the ship," said Jones.
TARGETED AT SECURITY
Noel DaCosta, external affairs director at Red Stripe on Spanish Town Road estimated that between two and three per cent of the company's production costs is specifically targeted at security. Recently, police reported the discovery of 3,300 lbs of marijuana stashed among crates of Red Stripe beer destined for Connecticut, United States, with a street value of US$6.7 million (Jamaican $388 million). No one was arrested.
Officials became suspicious of the container after noticing that a door had been tampered with. During a search, they found the taped packages of marijuana stuffed inside 67 knitted bags and mixed among several cases of beer.
"It is particularly onerous when someone tries to export any product. We go through a plethora of checks to ensure that we deliver this stuff to the wharf free of contamination," said Mr. DaCosta.
"We have an elaborate system where certain people have access to. So it is quite a cost. It's a big issue for exporters and it makes us less competitive," he stressed.
Desmond Blades, managing director of the Spanish Town Road-based Musson (Jamaica) Ltd., suggested that the police needed to be more alert.
"If you leave a building unsecured any night, the next morning you find half the roof is gone and this is not something someone can do quietly. Security costs is one of the largest individual expenses including transport, labour and services," said Mr. Blades, whose company deals in household chemicals, disinfectants and soaps.
Rex Gadsby, chief executive officer (CEO) of Grace Food Processors (Meats) Ltd, in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, said while they did not do a lot of exports, security is a very serious issue. "It costs about $200,000 a month for security. But it's a concern for everyone," said Mr. Gadsby, whose company processes ham, sausages, bacon, frankfurters and bologna.
John Rosen, general manager of P A Benjamin located on East Street in Kingston, and dealers of pharmaceuticals, personal care and body products, says about 25 per cent of their sales comes from exports.
"A fair amount of that goes out in containers. We have to put security in place. Dogs have to come down and sniff it, a number of checks and security procedures we go through. It is something that we have to work with and we have been able to deal with," said Mr. Rosen. He noted that so far his company has had no problems with their goods being tampered with. "It is significant but the cost is not unreasonable," he said.
Officials at Berger Paints located on volatile Spanish Town Road said they are glad that they have not experienced the same problem as Red Stripe.
"We spend nearly $500,000 a month on security. We have security guards working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Nobody is allowed to open the container after it arrives here unless permission is granted by the police," said one official who did not wish to be named.
