Hugh Martin MR. GODFREY Dyer, President of the JHTA, speaking on a radio programme earlier this week, stunned the other discussants with a devastating description of the local beef that is offered to the tourist industry. Explaining the need for importing beef for the trade he made the point that local beef was not tender enough for the discerning tastes of the North American visitor and went on: "The local beef the local cuts are not tender enough and when they have to use a steak knife and use it like a saw they're not going to be happy with it. We can say let us try them with our local beef they don't have to come back. There are many other places they can go to and get what they want" Like a saw.
The beef farmer on the programme, Mr. Colin Wright, was speechless for a moment but soon came back to himself to plead that local beef was not only tender but was tastier and, what more, organic. To his credit Mr. Dyer quickly recovered and explained that he was referring to the choice steak cuts that were served rare and that 50 per cent of beef used in the industry was of local origin but only for stews and roasts. So the beef industry is back in the news again pushed on to the front page by the appearance of Mad Cow disease in the USA.
THE LAST TIME
The last time it aroused some interest was in 2001 when there was a fear that the disease might have contaminated corned beef imported here from France. That fear was of course soon dispelled and everyone went back to their red meat-free diet and the beef farmer to the literal giving away of his stock to anyone brave enough to still eat beef. One farmer was heard complaining that the (expletive deleted) praedial thieves wouldn't even steal his animals so he could be rid of them.
The other time beef made the news big was the mid-nineties when beef farmers, in one of the most dramatic and innovative protest demonstrations ever staged in Jamaica, invaded an outlet in Mandeville of one of the world's most well known fast food chains. They all bought a hamburger and walking out, bit into them, grimaced and cast them into the garbage in disgust as the cameras rolled. It took some time but that chain of restaurants is now using Jamaican beef in their burgers. But it was not soon enough, for large numbers of beef farmers have in the meanwhile been forced to throw in their towel and the herds have been reduced to a fraction of what they once were.
The question that arises though is where have the cows gone since so many persons have stopped eating beef. Well, that's easy. Into patties. Have you noticed the phenomenal growth in the patty business and how widely the outlets have extended? So who is putting away so many patties, you may well ask. Everybody. Beef is red meat but patty is wholesome. And this to a large extent is what has kept the beef industry going to the point where demand was beginning to pick up and with it a steady increase in price to the farmer. It didn't hurt either that the price for beef has been increasing internationally with the abatement of the Mad Cow disease scare and consumers, not taken in by the red meat syndrome, return to their favourite protein.
BAN ON IMPORTS
The recent ban on imports of beef from the USA has only served to highlight the dilemma of the beef industry. Having cut back on production for a decade or more it is now unable to capitalise on the opportunity that presents itself in the interim between the ban and the arrival of needed supplies from Australia and New Zealand. It is opportunity lost but not one for which it will quickly blame itself. It has for years been lobbying the government for assistance but with little success. One of the glaringly obvious needs has been a modern slaughtering facility that will satisfy international standards and create the skills to produce the kind of cuts about which Mr. Dyer lamented. The industry has to my knowledge made strong pleas for action on this but it didn't happen.
It is now calling for one billion dollars to get it back on its feet. But where is that money to come from? Even if it is found it will take another three to four years to achieve any meaningful advance. At the same time the JHTA is asking the Government to waive the duty on the supplies air-freighted to ease the shortage caused by the ban. Caught on two horns of a dilemma the Government cannot help one and not the other. Once again we have failed to take the long-term decisions that are necessary to place us in a position to exploit the opportunities when they come. We have too long pursued the policy of importing because it is cheaper to do so now, than to produce, not realising that conditions do not always remain the same. So here we are now, unable to say with assurance," Here's the beef."
Hugh Martin is a communication specialist and farm broadcaster. E-mail:humar@cwjamaica.com.
