Adrian Frater, News Editor
WESTERN BUREAU:
DESPITE FALLING market prices, declining production levels and adverse weather patterns, stakeholders in the local banana industry are convinced that the industry can be viable.
"If the tariff continues to hold, and the programme of assistance to our farmers stays in place, I see no reason why the future of banana should not be secured," said Dr. Marshall Hall, managing director of the Jamaica Producers Group. "Unlike in the past when the bananas which did not meet export standards went to waste, with the demands for green bananas in the snack industry and the demand for ripe bananas locally,we now have a market for every single finger of banana we produce."
According to Dr. Hall, "we are currently earning about US$20 million from the export market annually and approximately the same from our local market, which has a strong demand for ripe bananas and for green bananas for the snack market." Therefore,"once we continue to meet our export and local demands, our future in banana should be secured," he added.
While western Jamaica is not as vibrant as St. Thomas, Portland and St. Mary - the three major banana export parishes, sector players in the west have high hopes for the sector. In St. James there was once a thriving boxing plant and WESTBAN, which cultivated some 3,000 acres of banana. Southern Trelawny once had its own boxing plant too.
MEETING DEMANDS
"While the west is no longer involved in high volume production for the export market, we are doing extremely well in meeting the demands of the local market," said Glendon Harris, President of the St. James Branch Society and first vice-president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS). "Presently, there is an expanding demand in the banana chips industry for green bananas and for ripe bananas in the hotel sector."
Jamaica produced only 30,000 tonnes of bananas last year, which was significantly less than the 75,000 tonnes produced in 1994 when the industry had its best year since Hurricane Allen. But Dr. Hall is not unduly worried. In fact he seems much more concerned about the reduction in the price we are now getting from the European Union (EU) market.
"We currently have a 45-50,000 tonne market so we are basically able to meet our demands," said Dr. Hall. "I am more concerned about the price we are now getting. Today, we are looking at about US$610 per tonne against our better years when we used to earn in the region of US$1000 per tonne."
However, while banana is second behind sugar in terms of exports and foreign exchange earnings,the prospects for the industry appear more buoyant than that for the sugar industry.
The banana industry, in addition to enjoying duty-free access for bananas supplied to the EU within the quota, has been receiving technical and financial assistance from the EU through the European Union Banana Support Programme, which is aimed at increasing productivity, reducing operating costs, improving the quality of fruits and assisting with marketing in the EU.
