Byron McDaniel, Gleaner Writer

Walderston, Manchester:

The Jamaica Egg Farmers Association (JEFA) is poised to recover from a downward curve in demand for its product due to competition from North American suppliers of liquefied eggs to local hotels.

A plant to pasteurise local eggs is now in an advance stage of completion and is being built by the JEFA in conjunction with Caribbean Producers Limited in Montego Bay, St. James, at a cost of $40 million. The facility is expected to be operational by October 2007.

"The association has approached the ministry for a $15M loan to assist with the commissioning of the liquid egg plant and I'm happy to say that we have made a submission to the Ministry of Finance and once that is approved it will be put before the Cabinet," Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke, announced in a speech read by State Minister for Agriculture, Victor Cummings, on Wednesday, September 13 at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville.

Mr. Cummings was addressing participants in a seminar organised by USAID's REACT project, Jamaica Egg Services Limited, in association with JEFA, to assist egg farmers in managing laying hens for improved productivity and profit.

Minister Clarke said that the industry was being positioned to take advantage of the increased opportunities within the CARICOM Single Market.

Giving details, the minister said, "Jamaica is the only Caribbean territory which is establishing a facility to produce pasteurised liquid eggs."

Apart from the hotel sector, the minister said a market survey has found that 75 per cent of commercial establishments, example bakeries and restaurants, were currently using liquid eggs.

President of JEFA, Mark Campbell, told Farmers Weekly, that both egg farmers and consumers would benefit as the latter would be supplied with A grade eggs only, while the lower grade eggs would be liquefied.