REFLECTING THE resilience of the Jamaican people, the banana industry is set to make its first export shipment this week only six months after Hurricane Ivan devastated the crop. Bananas, green and ripe, are already back on the local market.
But even at full pre-Ivan level, banana export from Jamaica is now a shadow of its former self. This country, the cradle of the international banana trade, was once the largest exporter in the world in the 1920s. Since those heydays other producers have come to dominate the industry, most notably those in Latin America.
Preferential access to the European Union market, which for us means Britain, is under severe threat from WTO rulings instigated by producers in Latin America and elsewhere. Caribbean bananas account for only 5 per cent of the EU market but being squeezed out of that market would be absolutely devastating for the banana economies of the Eastern Caribbean and would have significant repercussions for the Jamaican economy although less dependent on banana.
The government must use the relevant diplomatic channels to counter this threat.
In the past, the banana trade significantly transformed the peasant economy and we are pleased to hear from the Banana Export Company chairman, Dr. Marshall Hall, that small farmers "have come back strong" and have made a significant contribution to the resumption of export.
While we have traditionally done well with banana, we welcome other positive news out of the agriculture sector, as some $30 million is to be spent over the next three years to increase honey production, having received the green light to export honey to the EU market. Honey production has also been affected by the hurricane, but the EU is pleased with quality and our bottling process.
And even as the battle over bank interest rates to the productive sector heats up, the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association and the Scientific Research Council have signed a cooperative agreement aimed at increasing the level of use of locally developed technologies, the development of new products, and the increase of productivity through the application of good manufacturing practices.
The strength of both the SRC and the manufacturing sector is in agri-processing -- the intersection of agriculture and manufacturing. This cooperative effort must be maintained and strengthened to underline the recovery from natural disaster.
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