THE EDITOR, Sir:I REFER to the article in The Sunday Gleaner of February 6, entitled 'Mixed fortunes for dairy', which made reference, in part, to an earlier telephone conversation with your Staff Reporter, Dennise Williams.
While the article largely captured the essence of my characterisation of the current parlous state of local diary farming, two quotations attributed to me, failed to accurately convey my responses.
The first related to my response to the apparent contradiction in data supplied to you by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), which showed an 85 per cent increase in diary products [sic] during quarter ending 2004. Your quote unfortunately conveys the impression of my being dismissive of the report from the PIOJ.
INDICATED SUSPICION
In trying to reconcile the apparent anomaly, I indicated my suspicion, which ought to be claried with the PIOJ, that the report might have been referring to manufacturing output as the information available to the dairy board for local milk production confirmed a continued decline in fresh milk production.
The second quotation, 'A large number of milking cows was killed off during the hurricane' incorrectly reflects my reference to the fact that over 350 otherwise productive heifer, had been sold for slaughter in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan, reflecting not only the adverse direct effect of the hurricane on milking cows, but also a frustration with the prolonged poor financial returns to the dairy farmer.
FRESH MILK SHORTAGE
I highlighted this point to reinforce my prediction that fresh milk will likely continue to be short on supermarket shelves over the next several months and lamented the fact that the inordinate trade margins for locally produced milk as well as imported diary products, in spite of the low tariff regime pursued by government, would continue to suppress the demand for milk products, generally, and in particular, set back the early recovery of the local dairy farm sector for which the dairy board was actively pursuing ameliorative policy initiatives.
We are appreciative of your and Ms. Williams' support in bringing to public attention the critical state of a sector of great significance to rural development and crave your assistance in publishing these clarifications to an otherwise commendable report.
I am, etc.,
PAUL JENNINGS, Ph.D
Chief Executive Officer
Jamaica Dairy Development Board
